Farm Credit Canada recently released its 2023 market outlook for the beef and hog sector

May 30, 2023

FCC's chief economist JP Gervais says it's an interesting time in the ag markets right now.

He points out that a key factor overall right now is the high-interest rates, something he doesn't expect to see change anytime soon.

Gervais says commodity prices have come down lately and there's a lot of uncertainty going forward as to what the crops are going to look like in the prairies and around the world.

"You know, you look south of the border and some of the challenges that they have with winter wheat right now. That has been giving a little bit of life in the wheat market."

Overall for grains and oilseeds, it's a matter of weaker commodity prices than what we had in recent years, while in the livestock sector, there are a couple of different things happening.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.