(USDA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. cattle placements spike in August

Chicago | Reuters — Ranchers placed 1.93 million cattle in U.S. feedlots in August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, in a stronger-than-expected report likely to weigh on futures early next week. Cattle placements rose about three per cent from August in 2016, USDA said. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a decline […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: CME October hogs fall to contract low

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange October lean hog futures fell sharply to a contract low on Thursday, weighed down by a months-long decline in cash prices and abundant supplies, traders said. Deferred hog futures contracts as well as most live cattle and feeder cattle contracts also eased on technical selling and profit-taking. Traders […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle break four-session losing skid

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Tuesday settled higher for the first time in five sessions, spurred by short-covering and bargain buying, said traders. Some contracts punched through key technical resistance barriers, which triggered fund buying and pre-established buy orders. August ended 0.725 cent/lb. higher at 106.725 cents (all figures […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle at nine-month low for third straight session

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased to their lowest level in nine months on Monday as the seasonal supply build-up pressured wholesale beef prices for a third consecutive session, traders said. They said bullish traders worried that plentiful cattle numbers might again result in lower prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, […] Read more



Seaboard Triumph Foods’ new pork plant is under construction at Sioux City, Iowa. (Video screengrab from SeaboardTriumphFoods.com)

Sizzling hog market waits on new U.S. plants

CNS Canada — Prices for Canadian hogs are enjoying a seasonal bump as consumers prepare for the summer grilling season. In Canada, the Signature No. 5 (Maple Leaf) Index daily price was listed at $179.68 per 100 kg (ckg) on May 26. That price was up $1.11/ckg compared to the week previous, according to data […] Read more


(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Hog market improving with solid exports

CNS Canada — Strong U.S. exports and declining cold-storage numbers have helped push hog prices on Canada’s Prairies to better levels than a few months back. According to the latest information compiled by Saskatchewan Agriculture, the U.S. exported 173,770 tonnes of pork in November 2016, up 13.5 per cent from 153,051 in October 2016, and […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rally ahead of USDA report

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures gained for a second day in row on Friday, supported by follow-through buying after contracts settled up by their 3-cent-per-lb daily price limit on Thursday, said traders. Investors also tweaked positions before Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly Cattle-On-Feed report at 2 p.m. CT. At […] Read more

(PutPorkOnYourFork.com)

U.S. meat cases awash with Christmas hams at bargain

Chicago | Reuters –– Shoppers preparing to feast on ham for Christmas can do so without breaking their budget, thanks to record amounts of pork as the industry rebounds from a deadly pig virus, said analysts following the government’s monthly cold storage report on Tuesday. Christmas is the top-ranked holiday for eating ham, followed by […] Read more