CME April 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low

Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures jump in end-of-month, -quarter rebound

Lean hog futures up in most months

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rallied by as much as the daily three-cent trading limit on Tuesday in an end-of-month and end-of-quarter profit-taking bounce following a steep drop fueled by concerns about the fast-spreading coronavirus and its economic impact. The recent dive in prices as governments imposed stay-at-home orders and restrictions on […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market experiences fortuitous bounce

Last week, the feeder market started on a very sluggish tone. Buyers were sitting back waiting for the market to establish direction. By Friday, yearling prices were up $2-$4 compared to seven days earlier, while calves were trading $4 to as much as $8 above week-ago levels. Cow-calf producers and backgrounding operators have been holding […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end mostly lower

Hogs also ease as rally pauses

Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark June live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed lower on Wednesday for the first time in five sessions as the market paused after a sharp rally driven by soaring retail beef prices. Wholesale beef prices jumped and packer profit margins skyrocketed this week as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures limit up as beef prices surge

Hog futures also limit up, following cattle higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose their daily limit on Monday, lifted by strong packer margins, rising wholesale beef prices and expectations of higher cash cattle prices this week after Tyson Foods said it would pay producers a one-time premium, traders said. Benchmark June live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange […] Read more


CME February 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Plentiful supply pressures CME hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Monday in a turnaround from a two-week high last week, as large inventories pressured prices. Meat packers slaughtered an estimated 496,000 pigs, up from 475,000 a year ago, putting extra pork on the market. U.S. hog supplies are large after farmers expanded their herds to supply […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill’s quarterly profit up on beef, egg demand

Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill reported a three per cent increase in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing strong consumer demand for meat and eggs in North America and growth in its animal nutrition businesses. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said its adjusted operating earnings rose to $908 million in […] Read more



Workers sit outside the Tyson Fresh Meats processing plant at Holcomb, Kan. on Aug. 12, 2019, three days after a fire heavily damaged the facility. (Photo: Reuters/Adam Shrimplin)

USDA to probe beef market after Tyson plant fire

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue ordered an investigation into widening prices between cattle and beef on Wednesday after a recent fire at a Tyson Foods slaughterhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, shut the plant. Cattle prices have tanked because the fire temporarily eliminated a key buyer of livestock. Producers have worried that meat […] Read more