Reading Time: 7 minutes In 1995 James Reesor and a business partner bought a 300-sow farrowing herd. Today, two decades later, RFW Farms is a 4,000-sow farrow-to-finish multi-site operation, producing about 2,000 hogs a week. By all measures, those 20 years have been challenging times in the hog business, yet this company has emerged as one of the largest […] Read more
Focus on where you can lead
At RFW Farms, the goal is to inject certainty into what can seem a very uncertain business. How they do that is a story in itself
U.S. livestock: Bargain hunters reverse CME hog futures losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs rallied on Friday, with some contracts up the three-cents-per-pound price limit, fueled by bargain hunting following futures’ plunge to a six-year low in the previous session, traders said. February closed 0.6 cent/lb. higher at 63.875 cents, while April and May ended three cents higher at 69.275 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures hit six-year low as supply woes persist
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs sagged to a six-year low Thursday, pressured by continued worries over plentiful supplies that sank futures to a five-year bottom on Wednesday, traders said. February closed 1.825 cents per pound lower at 63.275 cents, and set a new contract low of 62.85 cents in electronic trading […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Supply worries drop lean hogs to five-year low
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hogs fell to their lowest level in five years Wednesday as abundant supplies of heavyweight hogs pressured cash prices and hurt wholesale pork demand, traders said. “We’re simply supply-bearish,” said U.S. Commodities analyst Don Roose. Market-ready (cash) hogs in the Midwest sold steady to $1 lower […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rebound with beef prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled higher after Tuesday’s choppy session, supported by the wholesale beef price upswing that trumped initial selling, traders said. February closed 0.55 cent per pound higher at 153.75 cents, and April up 0.975 cent, to 150.575 cents (all figures US$). Tuesday morning’s choice wholesale beef […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs fall to four-year low, cattle tumble on supply
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. lean hogs fell one per cent to a more than four-year low on Monday, while live and feeder cattle also tumbled as investors liquidated long holdings on signs of plentiful supplies. Hog prices declined in U.S. Midwest cash markets, where pork packers had enough of the animals for their slaughter […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle post gains after wild ride
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished higher on Friday after an up-and-down session, ultimately supported by short-covering and futures’ discounts to cash prices, traders said. February closed 1.325 cents per pound higher at 154.85 cents, and April up 1.775 cents, to 152.275 cents (all figures US$). This week, packers paid […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures slump, but off session lows
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower on Thursday, pressured by profit taking before the last trading day of the month on Friday, traders said. Earlier, February and April triggered sell stops and fund liquidation after falling below the 10-day moving average of 152.95 cents and 151.05 cents, respectively (all […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally with biggest daily gain in four months
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs closed sharply higher Wednesday on short-covering that earlier drove futures to their biggest one-day gain in four months at over two per cent. The electronic is currently trading and is up 1.8 per cent. February closed 2.1 cents per pound higher at 71.525 cents, and April […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle see biggest daily rise in six months
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle posted their biggest one-day percentage increase in six months on Tuesday, driven up over two per cent by bargain hunting, traders said. Speculative buying and short-covering helped boost nearby trading months to their three-cents-per-pound price limit, which will result in an expanded limit to 4.5 cents […] Read more
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