(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Union seeks temporary halt for major Manitoba hog plant

Four Maple Leaf plant staff now COVID-positive

Reading Time: 2 minutes The union for about 2,000 workers at Maple Leaf Foods’ main Canadian hog slaughter and packing plant is calling for the company to put the brakes on production, pending further tests for COVID-19 among employees. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 said Thursday it was “made aware” late Wednesday night of three more […] Read more

CME October 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures steady as investors eye supplies

October lean hogs close higher

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures steadied on Wednesday, with investors unwilling to push the market above recent highs due to plentiful supplies. Some producer hedging also was noted, traders said. “Everybody is a little too bulled up,” said Larry Hicks at Cattlehedging.com. “Everybody thinks we have worked through the supplies and we have […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

COVID-19 case confirmed at Maple Leaf hog plant

Reading Time: < 1 minute A worker at Maple Leaf Foods’ hog slaughter and processing plant at Brandon, Man. is recovering at home after testing positive for COVID-19, the Manitoba Co-operator has reported. The company said it received word over the long weekend about the case. Citing its own review of the situation and consultation with public health officials, the […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures snap winning streak on profit-taking

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures weakened on Tuesday, snapping a five-session streak of gains, as traders took some risk off the table. Hog futures were slightly firmer. Investors shrugged off signs of strength in the cash cattle markets, concerned that the streak that pushed the October contract to a five-month high had […] Read more


CME October 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures extend winning streak

Big supplies hinder hog market

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures firmed on Monday, with fund buying sparking the gains due to expected strength in the cash markets, traders said. “The trade continues to feel that the cash market has bottomed,” said Don Roose of U.S. Commodities. “It continues to feel that the cash market will trade from […] Read more

China aims to buttress the country’s protein supply after African swine fever decimated its hog herd.  Photo: File

China to encourage foreign investment in livestock breeding, plant-based meat substitutes

Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters – China’s state planner said on Friday that it will encourage foreign investment in livestock and poultry breeding, as well as plant-based meats substitutes, from this year. The move by the National Development and Reform Commission comes as China, the world’s top meat market, strives to boost supplies of meat and alternative […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures close higher on strong export data

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday for a third straight day, buoyed by strong weekly beef export sales and signs of firming cash cattle prices, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled up 0.275 cent at 101.725 cents per pound while most-active October rose 0.700 […] Read more

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JBS invests $19-million in safety measures amid COVID-19 pandemic

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters –Brazilian food processor JBS SA has invested more than 100 million reais ($19.3 million) in health, safety and contingency measures at all its Brazilian production units, according to a Wednesday company statement that comes as the novel coronavirus continues to ravage local meat plants. The company said the funds were invested […] Read more


Photo: ARS/USDA

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures close higher; lean hogs decline

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Wednesday for a second session on firm cash cattle prices and a softer dollar, traders said. Cash cattle traded in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas at $97 per cwt, mostly $1 higher than last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily note. A […] Read more

Piglets look out from a fence at Cabanas Argentinas del Sol pig farm in Marcos Paz, southwest of Buenos Aires in December 2008.  Photo: Reuters/Enrique Marcarian

Argentina nears China hog deal it hopes could turbocharge local pork production

Reading Time: 2 minutes Buenos Aires | Beijing | Reuters – Argentina is nearing an initial agreement with China that could pave for the way for potential investments by the Asian giant in local pork production for export, Argentina’s undersecretary of trade and investment promotion told Reuters. That could eventually lead to Chinese-backed hog farms in the South American […] Read more