Fears over avian flu spreading to pigs in the United States and greater hog slaughter are causing lean hog prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to fall to three-month lows, according to a livestock economist.

Pork market strong despite weak U.S. futures

Largest fescue ranch on Earth preserved
Record-setting conservation easement protects McIntyre Ranch in perpetuity
Reading Time: 3 minutes After years of planning and fundraising, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has completed a successful campaign to conserve the McIntyre Ranch. Located near the Milk River Ridge 40 miles south of Lethbridge, the 22,500-hectare ranch is the largest conservation easement in Alberta. “It’s the largest piece of fescue grasslands remaining on the planet. It’s a […] Read more

U.S. dairy flu strain shows signs of being a different beast
Strain infecting dairy cattle in U.S. behaves erratically, says bird flu specialist
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Veterinarians and food safety officials have been scrambling since late March to understand the origin and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in U.S. dairy herds across several states. Many potential vectors have been considered, from migratory birds, direct cow-to-cow transmission and milking equipment. A University of Guelph veterinary professor has one […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle retreat on heavy supplies, weak cash market
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures eased on Monday on ample supplies of market-ready cattle and expectations for flat to lower cash cattle sales this week, traders and analysts said.

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures turn higher, feeder cattle lower
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures were mixed on Friday, with live cattle contracts turning higher and a rally in Chicago corn futures Cv1 pressuring most feeder cattle contracts lower.

US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms
The Biden administration said today it will provide nearly $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu among dairy cows, in the government's latest bid to contain outbreaks that have fueled concerns about human infections with the H5N1 virus.

Scotland reports case of mad cow disease
The Scottish government on Friday confirmed a case of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, at a farm in the southwest of the country, the first British case of the disease in over two years.

U.S. livestock: Livestock futures turn lower amid choppy trading
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures turned lower on Thursday amid a day of sideways and choppy trading, as wholesale beef prices dropped and cash cattle markets saw limited activity.

Brazil floods hit food silos, disrupt routes to major grains port
Heavy flooding in southern Brazil has hit food storage facilities in lower areas while hampering the shipping of grains to port, jeopardizing the nation's exports and wreaking havoc to the economy of Rio Grande do Sul state, a large soy, rice, wheat and meat producer.

U.S. livestock: Live cattle, lean hogs rise on technical buying
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures firmed on Tuesday on technical buying, while lean hog contracts ended higher in a technical and short-covering rebound following four days of declines.