CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures rise, hog futures dip

Wholesale pork highest since mid-November

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange extended their rally on Monday, with strong cash prices and technical buyers pushing the market higher. Live cattle contracts have risen for eight straight sessions and feeder cattle contracts have posted gains for five sessions in a row. But hog futures closed weaker even as pork prices surged […] Read more

Aerial view of a wildfire about 20 km north of Valhalla Centre in northwestern Alberta on June 4, 2023. (Alberta Wildfire photo)

Prairie Forecast Update: Forecast pretty much on track

Update issued June 4, covering June 4-7, 2023

Reading Time: < 1 minute The heat and humidity moved into a large portion of the Canadian Prairies late last week and over the weekend as the previous general forecast played out pretty close to what the weather models predicted. There is not much change in the forecast for the next three days. The heat and humidity will continue across […] Read more


CME August 2023 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle extend rally on surging cash market

Lean hogs follow firm trend

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures extended their run of life-of-contract highs on Friday, supported by a jump in cash cattle prices this week along with rising beef prices, traders said. Benchmark CME August live cattle futures settled up 0.525 cent at 172.9 cents/lb. after posting a contract high at 174.25 […] Read more

CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle soar as cash prices explode

Lean hog futures mostly lower

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures surged on Thursday as cash cattle traded as high as US$180/cwt in Texas and Kansas, up to US$9 higher than last week, reflecting strong demand from meat-packers amid rising beef prices and tightening cattle supplies, traders said. CME’s most-active August live cattle futures contract settled […] Read more


Smoky skies over Calgary on May 16, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Hennel)

NEW FEATURE: Prairie Forecast: Summer has definitely moved in

Forecast issued May 31, 2023, covering May 31 to June 7, 2023

Reading Time: 3 minutes As we move into the official start of meteorological summer, it is looking like we have left spring behind and summer is here to stay. While this is great for those of us who like heat, humidity and thunderstorms, it can make it difficult to create an accurate forecast. The large areas of low pressure […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CME’s cash lean hog index (brown line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs bounce on short-covering

Cattle futures up with beef prices, tighter supplies

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark July lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jumped nearly five per cent on Wednesday, extending their two-day rally to 11 per cent on a round of bargain-buying following a months-long slump, traders said. CME July hogs settled up 3.8 cents at 83.325 cents/lb., while front-month June hogs ended […] Read more


Forecast probability of above- or below-normal temperatures for the period from May 29 to June 26, 2023. Map issued May 25, 2023. (Map: Environment Canada)

A hot, dry Prairie June ahead

El Nino pattern could arrive

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — June is expected to see a continuation of the hot and dry weather most of the Canadian Prairies has experienced in May, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics. “It looks like late spring/early summer is pretty hot across almost all of Western Canada. The Prairies are all above normal [temperature-wise],” Kehler […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs limit-up on bargain buying

Cash and beef values lift cattle futures

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures surged their daily limit on Tuesday, rebounding from Friday’s life-of-contract lows on a round of bargain-buying and short-covering toward the end of the month, and as feed grain futures fell sharply, traders said. “It really got grossly overdone to the bottom side,” said Dennis Smith, commodity […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Canadian feeder market rationing demand

Improvement seen in feeding margins

Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian feeder markets averaged $3-$6/cwt higher compared to seven days earlier. Weakness in the Canadian dollar along with strength in the deferred live cattle futures set a positive tone. Recent rains have enhanced yield potential for the Canadian barley crop, which also underpinned nearby cash values. Alberta packers were […] Read more

Ag Minister Nate Horner speaks at the Harmony Beef plant at Balzac, Alta. on Feb. 7, 2023. (Government of Alberta video screengrab via YouTube)

Alberta ag minister, ag critic hang onto seats in election

Governing UCP retains smaller majority

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s incumbent agriculture minister and official opposition ag critic both appear set to return to the legislature as Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives (UCP) are expected to form a majority government. At about 1 a.m. Alberta time on Tuesday, Smith’s UCP was elected or leading in 49 of 87 constituencies; all remaining 38 went to […] Read more