CME June 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands, a gauge of market volatility. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs plunge on fresh doubts of China trade prospects

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell more than four per cent on Wednesday, with the benchmark February contract at times dropping its daily three-cent limit on doubts about the prospects for a U.S. trade deal with China, the world’s top pork consumer. February lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) […] Read more

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CBOT weekly outlook: Impeachment process stifles markets

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings have dominated headlines and stalled progress in numerous trade developments, leaving the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) starved of meaningful news. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) has yet to be ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives. The trade pact, meant to replace the North American Free Trade […] Read more


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Talks continue toward ending CN strike as factories slow output

Reading Time: 2 minutes Montreal/Winnipeg | Reuters — Talks to end a strike by thousands of workers at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, continued on Wednesday, as industrial plants slowed output of products cut off from their markets. About 3,000 unionized workers, including conductors and yardmen, hit picket lines on Tuesday after talks with management failed to resolve […] Read more

CBOT December 2019 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures climb on short-covering

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures hit their highest in nearly a week on Tuesday as declining U.S. wheat condition ratings and worries about Southern Hemisphere crop prospects fueled a round of short-covering, analysts said. Corn firmed on signs of improving export prospects and soybean futures closed modestly higher. Chicago Board of Trade December […] Read more


CME December 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures slip on ample supplies, trade uncertainty

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Tuesday, extending their latest slide to five straight sessions on uncertainty about U.S. pork exports to China, traders said. Market bulls have been hoping for a U.S. trade deal with Beijing that could bolster U.S. pork sales to China, the world’s biggest pork consumer. China […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Impossible Whoppers contaminated by meat, suit claims

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Burger King was sued on Monday by a vegan customer who accused the fast-food chain of contaminating its meatless “Impossible” Whoppers by cooking them on the same grills as its traditional meat burgers. In a proposed class action, Phillip Williams said he bought an Impossible Whopper, a plant-based alternative to Burger King’s regular […] Read more


CBOT December 2019 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy slide on South American weather, trade worries

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures hit a two-month low on Monday and soybean futures touched their lowest in seven weeks on forecasts for improving crop weather in South America and uncertainty about prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal, analysts said. Wheat futures rose as worries about tightening global supplies sparked a round of […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures extend slide on China trade worries

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Monday for a fourth straight session, with deferred contracts leading the way down on worries about the chances for a U.S.-China trade deal that could boost Chinese imports of U.S. pork, traders said. Most-active February lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) settled […] Read more


Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil on Aug. 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

Brazil Amazon deforestation soars to 11-year high

Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil | Reuters — Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose to its highest in over a decade this year, government data on Monday showed, confirming a sharp increase under the leadership of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The data from Brazil’s INPE space research agency, which showed deforestation soaring 29.5 per cent […] Read more

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U.S. states declare emergencies to help farmers in propane shortage

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Regional shortages of propane, which is used for heating homes and barns and by farmers to dry their crops, have led to emergency declarations covering nine U.S. Midwest states amid late harvests of soggy grains. Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin declared state emergencies beginning in late October, and continued last Friday to […] Read more