CME October 2019 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands, a gauge of market volatility. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle fall as cash cattle, beef prices sag

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell to contract lows on Thursday as cash cattle prices declined from last week and wholesale beef prices extended their slide, traders said. Cash cattle traded at $100/cwt in Texas and Kansas, traders said, down from $103 last week (all figures US$). “Boxed beef is […] Read more

Dominic Barton. (Video screengrab from McKinsey.com)

Industry groups hail appointment of new China envoy

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada has appointed veteran business consultant Dominic Barton as ambassador to China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as the government grapples with a major diplomatic and trade dispute between the nations. Barton, 56, a Ugandan-born Canadian who stepped down as global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey and Co. […] Read more



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


Vanessa Kummer checks the quality of her family farm’s 2018 soybean crops near Colfax, N.D. on Aug. 6, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Dan Koeck)

China strikes back at U.S. with new tariffs on soybeans, beef, pork, more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China said Friday it will impose retaliatory tariffs against about US$75 billion worth of U.S. goods, putting as much as an extra 10 per cent on top of existing rates in the dispute between the world’s top two economies. The latest salvo from China comes after the United States unveiled tariffs […] Read more

File photo of a hog cooling off in a pond in the Philippines. (Stewart Hall/iStock/Getty Images)

Philippines checks for swine fever as pig deaths rise

Reading Time: 2 minutes Manila | Reuters — The Philippines has set up a crisis management team to determine if the deadly African swine fever virus has reached the country after officials detected a rise in pig deaths in some areas. The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported an increased mortality of pigs “raised by farmers in their backyards” […] Read more


U.S. President Donald Trump appears with China’s President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

U.S. farmers suffer ‘body blow’ as China slams door on farm purchases

Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — Chinese companies have stopped buying U.S. agricultural products, China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday, a blow to U.S. farmers who have already seen their exports slashed by the more than year-old trade war. China may impose additional tariffs on U.S. farm products bought shortly before the purchase ban took effect, China’s […] Read more

Lloyd Longfield, Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Martin Lavoie president and CEO of Canada Pork International made the announcement at the Ontario Pork office on July 25.   Photo: CPI Funding

Federal government funding $6 million to Canada Pork International

Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced $6 million will be invested in Canada Pork International (CPI) to focus on strengthening, diversifying and growing of Canada’s pork exports. It will help to boost the awareness of the industry in the priority international markets. Why it matters: A halt to exports to China has made finding other […] Read more