CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CME lean hog index (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit six-month high on strong cash markets

April live cattle end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose 2.1 per cent on Thursday, with the front-month contract hitting its highest in six months on strength in the cash market, traders said. April lean hog futures gained 2.175 cents, to 107.575 cents/lb., hitting a new contract high and briefly topping the high end of […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures firm, cattle mixed

CME March feeder cattle lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures firmed on Wednesday, with concerns about processing margins seen limiting supplies in the coming months. “High feed costs and low prices there have production margins as poor as they’ve been in at least eight years,” brokerage StoneX said in a note to clients. “All of this […] Read more


CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CME lean hog index (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs climb as tight supplies persist

Cattle futures also firm on tighter supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed on Tuesday, supported by persistent tight supplies of market-ready hogs, analysts said. “We know numbers are getting tighter. We haven’t generated the expansion we needed to over the last six to nine months,” said Matthew Wiegand, Risk Management Consultant at FuturesOne. “The numbers are […] Read more



CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle retreat on profit-taking

Hog futures lower despite rising cutout

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened on Friday as the market retreated from contract highs hit this week. Profit-taking weighed on futures prices, though the market remains supported by strong demand for cattle from meatpackers, traders said. Packers such as Tyson Foods and JBS slaughtered an estimated 120,000 cattle on […] Read more

CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle lower, strong slaughter data supportive

Hogs also trade higher, end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower despite finding new contract highs on Thursday, pressured by lower movement across the agricultural commodities late in the trading session, though tight cattle supplies underpin the market, traders said. “Demand in general still is in good shape. You’re going to have incrementally fewer […] Read more


Collecting some additional info doesn’t have to be onerous and the effort can pay significant dividends, says Dr. Jennifer Pearson.

Good calving data can deliver dollars, but first you need to record it

Collecting more info during calving can reveal issues you didn’t know you had, says vet

Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a lot of information that can be collected during calving season. But what data is worth spending time recording? And why should we be collecting data to begin with? A bare-bones record — such as how many cows and how many calves they had — doesn’t get you very far if you’re looking […] Read more



CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (dark red and black lines) and CME lean hog index (pink line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs up as processors seek market-ready supply

Weaker corn futures support feeder cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures gained on Tuesday, supported by cash prices as packers attempted to pull market-ready hogs forward to slaughter, analysts said. “Packers are clearly chasing hogs. The supply of butcher hogs is not enough to meet demand,” said Dennis Smith, commodity broker at Archer Financial. CME April […] Read more

Sharpen your grazing game plan in 2022

Sharpen your grazing game plan in 2022

Reading Time: < 1 minute Do you have a ‘grazing game plan’ for the coming year? Three experts are offering their tips and suggestions in a Feb. 9 webinar hosted by the Beef Cattle Research Council. “An important first step in developing a plan includes defining goals and objectives for the entire grazing operation. This webinar will cover the basics […] Read more