File photo of a tobacco crop in Zimbabwe. (Munya Chawora/iStock/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe offers land as compensation for 800 seized farms

Reading Time: 2 minutes Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe’s government will offer land as compensation for nearly 800 farms it seized under its land acquisition policy since 2000, according to regulations published on Thursday. Under former President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe took over some 5,000 farms, mostly from white farmers, saying the policy was meant to address colonial imbalances. But […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Wall Street leads CME cattle, hogs limit down

'You are developing a demand problem'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle and feeder cattle futures plunged their daily limit on Thursday, dragged down by another steep sell-off on Wall Street, fears of a global recession and continued uncertainty about consumer demand for meat, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange April live cattle contract settled down its three-cent limit at 100.075 […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Corn, soy drop to six-month lows

Wider markets sell-off continues

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell to six-month lows on Thursday as another rout on Wall Street underscored uncertainty about economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic as well as demand for agricultural commodities, analysts said. Wheat futures followed the weak trend. Chicago Board of Trade May corn settled down 8-3/4 cents […] Read more

Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

China proposes new standards on hormone residues in beef

New standards would apply to all beef exporters

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China has drawn up food safety standards on residue limits of growth hormones in beef, a move seen as a further step toward opening up its market to imports of the meat from the U.S. China has previously had zero tolerance for any residues of growth hormones, which has restricted the […] Read more



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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures sag as virus woes fuel recession fears

Bearish market sentiment also drags on hogs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Wednesday, with several deferred months setting contract lows as fears of a global recession sent global equity markets tumbling and fueled uncertainty about consumer demand for beef, traders said. “The cattle market really follows what is going on with equities, and equities are down near […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat decline as Wall Street tumbles

Chicago soy turns lower

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn and wheat futures declined on Wednesday, following as Wall Street equity markets fell sharply on fears of the coronavirus causing a global recession and a lack of immediate U.S. measures to counter the economic fallout. Soybean futures turned lower, erasing early advances tied to a pick-up in export demand […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs follow rebound on Wall Street

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday, following as Wall Street charged back from the prior day’s steep losses as the world’s biggest economies moved to cushion the impact of the coronavirus, traders said. The rally in global equity markets overshadowed bearish fundamentals in the cattle market, including declining cash […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn follow broad market rebound

Investors keep eye on stimulus proposals

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures each rose for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday as expectations of policy action to curb economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak helped financial markets regain ground after a day-earlier drubbing. Wheat futures also closed higher in technical moves after a choppy session, although […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures dive, led by energy, equity markets

CME feeder cattle close limit down

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday for a third straight session and hit life-of-contract lows following a plunge in crude oil and equity markets amid fears of a global recession, traders said. “When you have the stock market losing five to seven per cent of its value in a day, […] Read more