As cattle slaughter ebbs and flows through the cattle cycle, it creates challenges for packer capacity and utilization. Excess capacity at this point in the cattle cycle has meant that a plant closure was expected. US weekly fed cattle slaughter is down 9% from the 2022 peak.......

Alberta/Saskatchewan cattle on feed inventories are seasonally increasing and have likely peaked for this year. This fall feedlot placements have been running below year ago levels largely in part due to lower heifer placements....

Canada's weather in 2026 will be shaped by a shift in Pacific Ocean conditions. Current influences are driven by weak La Niña conditions (cooler-than-normal tropical Pacific waters), which are expected to fade by spring. ..........