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

U.S. livestock: Hogs near limit up on renewed pork export hopes

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures soared by the daily limit and approached a one-month high on Wednesday on renewed hopes that China will increase pork imports to compensate for pigs killed in a widespread outbreak of a fatal swine disease. China’s agriculture ministry said a new outbreak of African swine […] Read more


CME August 2019 live cattle, with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures weaken as beef prices decline

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle and feeder cattle futures slumped on Tuesday as concerns about declining beef prices continued to hang over the markets. Decreasing beef prices have spurred expectations that meat packers such as Tyson and Cargill may be less aggressive when bidding to buy cattle, said Mike Sands, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market experiences fortuitous bounce

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2-$5 higher on average. Auction barns had limited numbers on offer but strong buying interest surfaced for quality packages. Alberta feedlots were the main buyers setting the price structure. There were two main factors enhancing demand this week. First, U.S. packers started to show some […] Read more


CME October 2019 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle sag as traders eye lower boxed-beef prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures ended mostly lower on Monday as weak boxed beef prices fueled concerns about increasing supplies. Select-grade boxed beef was $189.21/cwt on Monday afternoon, down 2.7 per cent from a week ago, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data issued after the close of trading […] Read more

File photo of cattle on pasture northeast of Calgary. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta to lengthen public leases for ‘exemplary’ ranching

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers who display “exemplary” stewardship as tenants on Alberta’s public lands could soon be eligible for double the term of the usual lease. The province announced Tuesday it expects the new policy to come into effect in late autumn this year and “in the coming months” will release new guidelines on what would be considered […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: CME hogs book biggest one-week climb since April

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures closed higher on Friday and the most-active August contract recorded its biggest weekly gain since April, supported by expectations of thinning U.S. hog supplies, traders said. A glut of hogs has hung over the futures market for months, but traders see supplies starting to […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs end lower

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures fell about three per cent on Thursday on sluggish cash markets, traders said, retreating after a two-session surge that lifted the August contract to a near-three-week high a day earlier. CME August lean hogs settled down 2.55 cents at 79.175 cents/lb., one day after […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market softens on limited volumes

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $3 lower on average. Many auction barns were on holidays last week. Auctions that did hold sales had limited numbers on offer. The feeder market remains under pressure due to negative feeding margins, firm feed grain values and weakness in deferred live cattle […] Read more