One of the centrepieces of Burger King’s #CowsMenu campaign is a video directed by Michel Gondry featuring U.S. singer and yodeler Mason Ramsey. (Burger King video screengrab via YouTube)

U.S. beef ranchers sour on Burger King lemongrass ration

RBI arm launches '#CowsMenu' program, 'Reduced Methane' Whopper

Reading Time: 3 minutes A new U.S. sustainability campaign from one of the world’s biggest fast food chains, training its lens on beef cattle passing gas, has “disappointed” some cattle producers while also proposing its own new feedlot ration as a way to help cut emissions. Burger King, owned by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International, on Tuesday launched the “#CowsMenu” […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures drift lower on beef demand worries

Hog futures down off Monday's rally

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) fell on Tuesday for a second straight session on weak wholesale beef prices and worries about consumer demand, given uncertainty about the health of the U.S. economy, traders said. CME August live cattle futures settled down 0.85 cent at 98.8 cents/lb. and […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Hogs up on pork demand, export optimism

Feeder cattle up on lower corn prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose on Monday on signs of improving demand for pork products and optimism about export demand from China as the Asian country struggles with renewed outbreaks of a hog disease, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August lean hog futures settled up 1.4 cents at 51.275 cents/lb., after […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures weaken, cattle futures advance

Cattle values rise as corn values drop

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures on Friday pulled back from a rally the previous session as large supplies and doubts about Chinese imports weighed on the market, analysts said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August lean hog futures settled down 0.35 cent at 49.875 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The contract has rebounded slightly since […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Ham prices lead lean hog futures higher

Chicago live cattle book slight gain

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Thursday as firmer cash markets for hogs and some pork products supported thinking that the market may have bottomed out after declining for much of 2020, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August lean hog futures settled up 2.275 cents at 50.225 cents/lb., crawling back […] Read more

(Zevei-Wenhui/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s slower meat imports seen worsening its protein shortage

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China’s dwindling pace of meat imports, thanks to its tough measures against coronavirus contamination, will provide further support for prices already buoyed by a severe shortage of pork, analysts said. Purchases of pork and other meats have soared this year after domestic production shrank 30 per cent following an outbreak of […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures, boxed beef prices weaken

October lean hogs up slightly

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live and feeder cattle futures weakened with boxed beef prices on Wednesday as large supplies of heavy livestock are ready for slaughter, commodity brokers said. Cattle heading to slaughter weigh more, analysts said, because they put on pounds as animals backed up in feedlots when meat plants closed in April […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Large supplies push cattle, hogs mostly lower

Over 17,000 cases of COVID in packing plant workers, U.S. CDC reports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures ended mostly lower on Tuesday under pressure from large supplies, analysts said. Live cattle futures retreated a day after nearing a two-month high, while feeder cattle pulled back after reaching their highest price in month than a month on Monday. “We’ve gotten a bit overbought on […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle jump to two-month high

Lean hogs up on bargain buying

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures on Monday reached a two-month high on follow-through buying from last week, while lean hog futures edged up on bargain buying, traders said. Cattle futures are extending a recovery after recently regaining a premium over cash prices, traders said. Technical buying helped support the futures market even […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

China suspends beef imports from Cargill plant

High River plant on long list of blocked facilities

Reading Time: < 1 minute China has temporarily suspended imports of beef from Cargill’s major beef packing plant at High River, Alta., part of a long list of meat plants blocked in the last half of June. The Reuters news service on Monday published a list of meat packing plants from around the world which during June and early July […] Read more