CBOT December 2021 corn (candlesticks) with MGEX, CBOT and K.C. December 2021 wheats (dark green, yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy surge as U.S. farmers plant fewer acres than expected

Traders had expected more U.S. corn, soy acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture surprised traders with lower-than-expected plantings estimates and inventory data. Corn climbed by their daily exchange-imposed limit after USDA pegged plantings of the crop at 92.692 million acres, below analysts’ expectations for 93.787 million. The […] Read more

CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (green and black lines) and ICE November 2021 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy mixed ahead of plantings, stocks reports

Canadian farmers expand canola acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean futures were mixed on Tuesday as traders adjusted positions ahead of key U.S. reports on crop plantings and inventories. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday is expected to increase its estimate for corn plantings by about three per cent from March, according to […] Read more


CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink and brown lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures touch one-week high

CME August live cattle up

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures touched a one-week high on Tuesday in a rebound from recent losses, while live cattle futures were mixed. The hog market is recovering after dropping last week to a nine-week low, traders said. Hopes for improved export demand helped support prices, traders said. CME August […] Read more

CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down for second consecutive day

CME August cattle end lower

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures fell by an exchange-imposed limit for a second consecutive session on Thursday as commodities declined broadly. Selling by index funds fueled losses in markets from hogs to cattle and corn, after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it might raise interest rates sooner than expected, […] Read more


CME July 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: July hogs retreat after matching contract high

August live cattle up slightly, feeders down

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures ended mixed on Tuesday after matching a contract high because of tight U.S. supplies and firm cash markets, analysts said. The hog market has surged this year due to strong domestic demand and solid export sales to China, the world’s biggest pork consumer. Profit-taking […] Read more

(JBSS.infoinvest.com.br)

JBS says all facilities operating after weekend cyberattack

Attackers 'never able to access our core systems'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — All of meatpacker JBS SA’s global facilities are fully operational after a weekend cyberattack disrupted much of its North American and Australian operations, the company said on Thursday. The Brazilian meatpacker’s arm in the United States and Pilgrim’s Pride, a U.S. chicken company mostly owned by JBS, lost less than one […] Read more


Screengrab from a 2018 video showing cold storage at the JBS beef slaughter and packing plant at Brooks, Alta. (JBS video via YouTube)

JBS plants reopen as White House blames Russia over hack

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters — JBS SA employees started returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company’s beef operations stopped following a ransomware attack, disrupting meat production in North America and Australia. A notorious Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said. Brazil’s JBS […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with July 2021 lean hogs (pink open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures fall on cyberattack at JBS

July hogs touch contract high

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures tumbled on Tuesday after JBS stopped slaughtering at U.S. plants because of a cyberattack. Brazil’s JBS told the U.S. government that a ransomware attack on the company originated from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, according to the White House. It is not known […] Read more


(JBSFoodCanada.ca)

Ransomware attack on JBS halts Canadian, U.S. slaughter

Cyberattack likely from Russia, White House says

Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago/Aboard Air Force One | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS SA told the U.S. government that a ransomware attack on the company that has disrupted meat production in North America and Australia originated from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, the White House said on Tuesday. JBS is the world’s largest meatpacker and the cyberattack […] Read more

File photo of the Hernando de Soto Bridge as viewed from the Mud Island River Park at Memphis. (Akrassel/iStock/Getty Images)

Barge backlog starts moving as Mississippi River reopens

Over 1,000 barges waiting to pass

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The Mississippi River reopened to vessel traffic near Memphis on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said, ending a shutdown of part of the waterway that caused a backlog of more than 1,000 barges carrying oil, corn and other goods. The Coast Guard said the river is open to all vessel traffic […] Read more