CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs end mixed after five-session rally

Feeder cattle up on corn supply projection

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures ended mixed on Tuesday following five straight sessions of contract highs that triggered technical and speculative selling and profit taking in some futures months. The market, however, remained underpinned by strong cash hog prices, robust export demand and profitable pork packer margins, as well as Tuesday’s downturn […] Read more

This image accompanied the latest cost-of-production study from Alberta Pork. In fact, losses have averaged about $6 per head for the last five years, says the general manager of Western Hog Exchange.

Pork producers eye an average year — which would mean more losses

Barns are already being shut down, and this exodus will accelerate, says industry veteran

Reading Time: 3 minutes The past year hammered the already struggling hog industry — but is there hope on the horizon for 2021? “I don’t want to be doom and gloom, but I have to say no,” said Brent Bushell, general manager of Western Hog Exchange. “In Western Canada, on average, producers haven’t made money since about 2015. Guys […] Read more



CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs touch contract high for fourth straight day

Live cattle up, feeder cattle retreat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures extended their rally on Friday, setting a contract high for the fourth consecutive day on strong demand, while live cattle futures topped a one-year high. Traders predicted Chinese buyers will continue to snap up U.S. pork after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday reported export sales […] Read more



There is no denying that the world remains hungry for protein, and in particular meat.

Schoepp: Who will win the battle for the plates of consumers?

The rise of meat created from plants or in a lab is a fascinating, and multi-faceted, affair

Reading Time: 3 minutes Who will win the plate on the battlefield of food animal versus plant- or cell-based meats? I have often wondered about the outcome of this raging war for the shelf, especially after I first noticed food animal companies investing in plant-based technologies. There is mounting evidence for the use of food animal over alternate meats […] Read more


CME April 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs touch contract high for third day

Cattle futures up with beef exports

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures climbed on Thursday, setting a contract high for the third consecutive day on firm Chinese demand, traders said. Weekly U.S. pork export sales to China, the world’s top pork consumer, reached a three-month high of 17,873 tonnes in the week ended Jan. 28, according to the U.S. […] Read more

Former ag minister and early booster of canola, Walter Paszkowski is one of three new inductees in the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Paszkowski, Price and Visser join Agriculture Hall of Fame

The canola, pork, and egg sectors are among those that benefited from the efforts of this trio

Reading Time: 2 minutes Walter Paszkowski, David Price and George Visser are the newest members of the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame. Paszkowski was instrumental in laying the foundation for the canola industry in Western Canada. Born and raised in Sexsmith, he was a founding director of the Northern Alberta Rapeseed Crushing Plant, president of the Alberta Canola Growers, […] Read more


CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs set contract high on strong demand, lighter weights

CME cattle futures close lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on Wednesday reached a contract high for the second consecutive day on strong demand and a decline in farm animal weights, analysts said. Average hog weights have declined as processors have cleared a backlog of hogs on farms that began last spring when COVID-19 outbreaks temporarily shut […] Read more