Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle fell on Wednesday for the first time in seven days as investors took profits, but sharply higher wholesale beef values minimized losses, traders said. April closed down 0.275 cent per pound, to 161.725 cents, and June 0.675 cent lower at 152.375 cents (all figures US$). The […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle pare early losses after beef price hike
Olymel to lay off Que. hog plant staff, cancel hog orders
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec pork and poultry packer Olymel has cancelled hog orders from Ontario and plans to lay off non-union staff at one of its hog slaughter plants next week, citing “force majeure” as the plant’s unionized workers walk the picket line. Workers represented by CSN (Confederation des syndicats nationaux) at Olymel’s Vallee-Jonction hog plant in Quebec’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures extend gains
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, partly led by a bounce in wholesale beef prices, traders said. April closed 0.65 cent per pound higher at 162 cents, and June up 0.05 cent to 153.05 cents (all figures US$). The morning’s choice wholesale beef […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up again on cash prices, USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished higher for a fifth straight session on Monday, fuelled by last week’s better-than-expected cash prices, traders said. Packers paid $163 to $165 per hundredweight (cwt) for market-ready or cash cattle in the U.S. Plains on Friday, up from $161 to $162.50 the previous week, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rise before USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed firm on Friday, partly on positioning ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle on Feed report. Analysts expect the data at 2 p.m. CT to show decreased cattle placements in February compared with a year ago. April closed 0.35 cent per pound […] Read more
Olymel hog plant workers hit the bricks in Quebec
Reading Time: 2 minutes Unionized workers at Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have walked off the job and rejected the meat company’s “final” contract offer. Olymel’s corporate communications spokesman Richard Vigneault confirmed the workers, represented by CSN (Confederation des syndicats nationaux), went on strike Wednesday evening. CSN, in a release Thursday, said 841 of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures hit five-year low as supply trumps demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures sank to their lowest level in five years on Thursday, given ample supplies versus slack pork demand, said traders and analysts. “Pork demand never recuperated from the high prices we had in the past,” said EBOTTrading.com senior analyst John Kleist. Pork demand is compounded by […] Read more
Olymel hog plant staff approve strike mandate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Updated, March 19 — Olymel has tabled a “final comprehensive offer” for unionized staff at its Vallee-Jonction, Que. hog slaughter plant after the workers gave negotiators a strike mandate. The meat packing arm of Quebec’s Coop Federee said Wednesday it’s at an “impasse” with its workers, represented by the Confederation des syndicats nationaux (CSN), due […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle close higher, hogs lower
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed sharply higher on Wednesday, with April and June up by the three-cents-per-pound price limit, led partly by their discounts to this week’s cash price expectations, traders said. April and June finished at 156.575 and 148.475 cents/lb., respectively (all figures US$). Futures’ limit will be […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle turn up on beef prices, hogs mixed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Tuesday erased some of Monday’s losses, supported by short-covering in response to strong wholesale beef values, traders said. April closed up 0.375 cent per pound, to 153.575 cents, and June 0.5 cent higher at 145.475 cents (all figures US$). Tuesday morning’s choice wholesale beef […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
