Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied to contract highs on Tuesday but ended mixed, with nearby contracts pressured by ideas that beef prices are topping out after a surge to nearly 15-month highs, traders said. Deferred live cattle contracts, however, were higher on the day on concerns about tight cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures post new highs, end mixed
Hogs down on supply outlook
Olymel’s striking Quebec workers get layoff ultimatum
Hog slaughter plant idle since late April
Updated — The threat of job losses for about half the unionized workers at a major pork packing plant in Quebec is its owners’ latest bid to end a four-month strike. Olymel announced Tuesday it will “abolish” the evening shift at its hog slaughter and processing plant at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec […] Read more
Hopes were raised but hog producers facing yet another crisis
The sector is seeing the best prices in five years, but high feed costs are a crippling blow
Reading Time: 4 minutes For many of Alberta’s long-suffering hog producers, a short-lived bout of profitability may actually be the final straw. “What could have been a beautiful year for the pork industry is starting to turn into a crisis,” said Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director of Alberta Pork. “Until we get further into the fall, we won’t really know […] Read more
Time for arbitration in Olymel strike, PQ says
Province's new mediator not enough, party says
Quebec’s third opposition party is calling on the province’s CAQ government to propose arbitration for an end to a strike at a major pork slaughter plant. The Parti Quebecois’ ag critic, Matane-Matapedia MNA Pascal Berube, and its labour critic, Jonquiere MNA Sylvain Gaudreault, made the pitch Friday, after workers from Olymel’s plant at Vallee-Jonction voted […] Read more
StatsCan sees higher cattle, hog inventories at July 1
Full impacts of West's drought not yet counted
Nationwide head counts of livestock from the “early stages” of Western Canada’s ongoing drought won’t yet show the weather’s full impact, but showed slightly larger herds heading into this summer compared to last year. Statistics Canada on Monday reported the first year-over-year increase in the size of the country’s cattle herd as of July 1 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle rebound on improving cash markets, beef prices
CME lean hogs also up off Thursday losses
Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rebounded from prior-session losses on Friday, supported by signs of improving cash cattle prices and firming wholesale beef values, traders said. Prices, however, continued to struggle to break out of their recent trading range as concerns about slowing global economic growth and rising […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs drop in broader commodities sell-off
Investors take 'risk-off' approach, U.S. dollar surges
Chicago | Reuters — Cattle and hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday, tracking broader market pressure amid worries about global growth and despite rising prices for beef and pork, traders said. Crude oil fell to its lowest levels since May and the U.S. dollar surged to a nine-month high, as rising […] Read more
Striking Quebec pork plant staff reject deal with Olymel
Quebec hog farmers call for province to intervene
Quebec’s hog farmers now want Premier Francois Legault to step in on a months-long strike at a major pork packing plant after its workers rejected a tentative deal between their union and employer. Workers at Olymel’s plant at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City, met Tuesday evening to vote on an agreement in […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle up on firm cash market, beef prices
Speculative buying, cash pork prices lift lean hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange firmed on Wednesday on higher cash cattle and beef prices, while feeder cattle gained as rains were forecast to hit drought-parched grazing pastures in the western Midwest and northern Plains, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported moderately active cattle sales […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs, live cattle end lower on uncertain demand
'Labour availability' still an issue for packers
Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ended lower on Tuesday on long liquidation and uncertainty about demand for various cuts of pork, traders said. Benchmark CME October lean hogs settled down 1.1 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at 87.9 cents/lb., retreating from Monday’s nearly three per cent rise (all […] Read more