CME June 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly lower as packing-plant woes persist

Backlog concerns drag on cattle

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed mostly lower on Wednesday, setting back from a one-month high set a day earlier in the benchmark June contract as traders mulled the implications of a presidential order for U.S. meat packing plants to remain open, traders said. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants […] Read more

JBS’ Worthington plant, when fully operational, produces pork for retail sale under the Swift brand. (JBSsa.com)

JBS reopens Minnesota pork plant to cull pigs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Meat producer JBS said Wednesday it was reopening a Minnesota pork plant shuttered by the pandemic to euthanize up to 13,000 pigs a day for farmers, not to produce meat for consumers. U.S. farmers have been forced to cull livestock as they run short of space to house animals after some […] Read more


CME June 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs pare gains as Trump plans order to keep meat plants open

Cattle up with wholesale beef prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures hit a four-week peak on Tuesday on worries about tightening pork supplies as the coronavirus shutters meat processing plants, but the market pared gains on news that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to order such sites to stay open. June lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile […] Read more

Cemetery employees fill in the grave of JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez on April 15, 2020 at Greeley, Colorado, following his death from COVID-19. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Trump orders U.S. meat processing plants to stay open

Advocates call for protective equipment for plant workers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants to stay open to protect the food supply in the United States, despite concerns about coronavirus outbreaks, drawing a backlash from unions that said at-risk workers required more protection. With concerns about food shortages and supply chain disruptions, Trump issued an executive order […] Read more


CBOT July 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Choppy markets settle lower as demand destruction persists

Corn, soybeans down slightly as traders square positions

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell slightly on Tuesday as traders squared positions at month-end. A faster-than-average U.S. seeding pace in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Monday crop conditions report pressured corn futures, while traders noted the condition of U.S. winter wheat was not as good as expected. Demand for […] Read more

Hog farmer Mike Patterson walks through one of his barns at Kenyon, Minnesota, about 70 km south of St. Paul, on April 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)

Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

"We have to have less hogs somehow"

Reading Time: 5 minutes Chicago | Reuters — With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant […] Read more


CME June 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit up on fears of tightening supplies

Cattle up on rising beef packer margins

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Monday on fears of tightening domestic pork supplies as the coronavirus pandemic forces slowdowns at slaughterhouses, analysts said. June lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled up the daily maximum of 3.75 cents at 55.275 cents/lb., the contract’s highest since […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Active planting weighs on corn

Chicago wheat hits lowest level since March 19

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures slid on Monday on favourable U.S. planting weather coupled with struggling crude oil prices that continue to pressure demand for corn-based ethanol, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures slipped to one-month lows as expected rain across Europe eased concerns about crop stress while competitive Saudi […] Read more


Canada/U.S. border signage in downtown Detroit. (RiverNorthPhotography/Getty Images)

CUSMA pact to take effect July 1, USTR says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday said he has notified Congress that the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will take effect on July 1, a month later than initially proposed. In a statement, Lighthizer said both Mexico and Canada had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada […] Read more

(Deyana Robova photo/iStock/Getty Images)

Smithfield to close Illinois pork facility

Workers test positive for COVID-19

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — World’s largest pork processor Smithfield Foods said Friday it will suspend operations at its Monmouth, Illinois pork processing facility next week after some employees tested positive for COVID-19, adding to already strained U.S. meat supplies. The news of some of the company’s 1,700 employees at the plant testing positive comes a day after […] Read more