Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods will shutter its hog processing facility, the world’s largest, on Saturday to protect employees in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew, industry sources said on Friday, as farmers braced for the storm’s potential lashing. Matthew has fueled concerns about the safety of livestock and farm workers along the coast from […] Read more
Smithfield to shutter major hog plant against Matthew
Hog profits disappear as U.S. futures crash
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A sharp drop in the U.S. hog futures over the past week is cutting into the profitability of the Canadian sector as well, with a turn higher unlikely in the near term. U.S. lean hog futures set new contract lows over the past week, as large North American supplies and expectations for […] Read more
Cash hog market benefits from barbecue season
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– The Canadian hog market is gearing up to start bringing home the bacon. Weekly cash hog prices are higher on continued stronger seasonal pork cutout values, with lower supply creating better prices. “Prices generally do increase over the summer,” said Brad Marceniuk, a provincial livestock economist in Saskatoon. “I expect hog prices […] Read more
Pork prices gain on seasonal demand, tighter numbers
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Western Canadian cash hog prices have been trending higher as supplies tighten and demand increases moving into the summer, two Prairie analysts say. “A lot of that has to do with lower slaughter numbers, higher pork cutout values,” said Brad Marceniuk, a livestock economist with the Saskatchewan government in Saskatoon. Hog numbers […] Read more
U.S. hog herd ekes out new high as PED impact ebbs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. hog herd in the December-February quarter modestly grew from a year earlier to a record high for that quarter, according to Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture quarterly hog report. Farmers cautiously added to herds while shoring up their bottom lines following the surge in hog numbers as the industry recovers from […] Read more
Pork market looks to improve by spring
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Canadian pork prices are feeling a modest bump upward as healthy U.S. exports clean up some excess North American pork supplies. Canadian slaughter-weight prices hit their lows in November and December — and since then, they have increased about 30 per cent, according to Brad Marceniuk, a livestock economist for Saskatchewan’s agriculture […] Read more
Weak loonie expected to support hog prices, but not yet
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A weak loonie could improve the profit margin of Canadian pork producers by summer, according to one analyst, but its effects have been little seen in the current market. Influencers outside of currency markets are driving current cash prices lower — and cash prices are relatively depressed, according to Tyler Fulton, director […] Read more
U.S. hog herd slowly expands as farmer profit shrinks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. hog herd grew slightly in the September-November quarter versus a year ago, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Wednesday, amid increased supplies as the industry recovers from a deadly pig virus hurt that farmer profit, said analysts. “Concern about profitability was a major issue. What kept producers from really […] Read more
Hog prices fighting for stability
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Canadian hog prices have been drifting slightly lower over the past few weeks but are showing signs of turning the corner, according to one industry expert in Saskatchewan. Brad Marceniuk, a provincial livestock development specialist in Saskatoon, said he expects prices to stabilize in the next couple of weeks as slaughter numbers […] Read more
Pork prices set to soften, analyst says
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — As the North American barbecue season winds down for another year, so too goes some strength in the pork market. For instance, cash slaughter-weight hogs in Saskatchewan, based on the Maple Leaf Signature #3 contract, averaged $162.55/cwt last week, down $7.95 (4.7 per cent) per 100 kg, according to Brad Marceniuk, a […] Read more
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