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

U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit up as trade tensions cool

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures jumped Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump predicted a trade deal with China after positive gestures by Beijing. Signs of cooling trade tensions supported the market, traders said, after China imposed retaliatory tariffs on imports of U.S. pork and other farm products last year […] Read more



File photo of marbled Japanese beef on display at retail. (ES3N/iStock/Getty Images)

Japan set to grant TPP-level access for U.S. beef, pork

Reading Time: 2 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — The United States and Japan have reached the broad framework of a trade agreement, Japan’s Nikkei business daily said on Saturday, with Tokyo making concessions on its agriculture but none immediately apparent from Washington on automobiles. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reached the deal in Washington […] Read more

Wagyu beef on skewers at a Tokyo market. (Michal_Staniewski/iStock/Getty Images)

Japan now accepting Canadian OTM beef

Reading Time: 2 minutes The last of Japan’s BSE-related restrictions on Canadian beef are lifted as of last Friday, with the Japanese government’s agreement to allow beef from Canadian cattle over 30 months of age (OTMs). Citing industry estimates, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said the added access announced Tuesday could mean an increase of up to 20 per cent […] Read more



CME August 2019 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 50-day moving average in purple. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle rise as Japan drops U.S. beef import curbs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed higher on Friday, buoyed by news that Japan will eliminate long-held restrictions on U.S. beef imports, traders said. The agreement reopens full beef trade after Japan in 2003 banned U.S. beef over concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which roiled […] Read more



“For people small and starting out, you have to have relationships,” Ray Price says. “Whether it’s family, friends, bankers or workers… you have to find places to have relationships.”

The look of leadership

Known for Sunterra’s bold, future-looking moves, what traits does Ray Price see in the farmers he thinks can up their game for the 2020s?

Reading Time: 9 minutes If Japan starts handing out honourary citizenships, you better believe Ray Price will be on their short list. Already, the Alberta-born farm boy has been to the Land of the Rising Sun more than 100 times representing Sunterra, the Price family’s storied, successful and diversified business. The Prices export a majority of their pork directly […] Read more