Insights and Stories on Pandemic

Vaccine mandate to lead to inflation, empty shelves, trucking executives say

Jan. 20, 2022 at 5:41 pm CST

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian consumers should soon see higher prices and some empty shelves in supermarkets and other retail outlets because of disruptions stemming from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, top trucking executives warned this week. The mandate, imposed by Ottawa to help curb the spread of […]

U.S. livestock: Cattle and hog futures firm

Jan. 19, 2022 at 5:15 pm CST

By Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rebound, slaughter pace still weak

Jan. 14, 2022 at 7:21 pm CST

By Tom Polansek

U.S. livestock: Hogs dip on concern over slower slaughter, heavier pigs

Jan. 13, 2022 at 6:36 pm CST

By Tom Polansek

Cross-border supply chains still may face disruptions from vaccine mandates

Jan. 13, 2022 at 3:20 pm CST

By David Shepardson Steve Scherer

U.S. livestock: Hog slaughter hits five-month low on Omicron spread

Jan. 12, 2022 at 6:23 pm CST

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose on bargain buying on Wednesday, traders said, though U.S. pig slaughtering sank to its lowest level since August as rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant hit meat plants. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures slumped as traders remain […]

By Tom Polansek

Ontario to extend labour-related crop loss coverage

Jan. 12, 2022 at 2:10 am CST

A temporary crop insurance expansion that covers Ontario farms against crop losses due to “on-farm labour disruptions” caused by COVID-19 will be held over for yet another year. Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, announced in late December the feature first introduced in 2020 will be included again in […]

By Dave Bedard

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs sag on Wall Street woes, worker shortages

Jan. 10, 2022 at 8:09 pm CST

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog and live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, pressured by declines on Wall Street along with slowdowns at slaughterhouses due to worker shortages, traders said. CME February live cattle futures settled down 1.075 cents at 136.25 cents/lb., while March feeder cattle […]

By Reuters

Canada resists pressure to drop vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers

Jan. 10, 2022 at 1:16 pm CST

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States. Canada will require all truckers entering from […]

By Steve Scherer

Deere says its robo-tractors are ready to till the fields

Jan. 4, 2022 at 3:55 pm CST

Detroit | Reuters — Deere and Co. said Tuesday it will start commercial delivery this year of technology that enables a tractor to till a field without an operator in the cab, a first for the top North American tractor manufacturer after years of effort to automate farm work. Deere […]

By Joseph White