Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell three per cent Wednesday, with deferred contracts making new lows, on the strong dollar and bird flu in Arkansas, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Arkansas. Investors […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures slump on strong dollar, bird flu woes
Wild boar must be PigTrace-compatible by July 1
Canada’s farmed wild boar industry has almost four months left to get ready for the same mandatory identification, record-keeping and movement reporting rules as the mainline hog industry. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday put out a reminder to all pork producers that they and other “pig custodians,” such as breeders, auction markets and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures mixed as dollar, stocks weigh
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed mixed on Tuesday, with nearby futures helped by their discounts to recent cash prices, while back months bowed in part to outside market pressure. April closed 0.75 cent/lb. higher at 154.75 cents, and June up 0.1 cent at 146.25 cents (all figures US$). August […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Profit-taking undermines CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle ended lower on Monday, pressured by profit-taking and funds that sold or “rolled” April contracts and simultaneously bought deferred months, traders said. Funds involved in CME’s livestock markets that follow the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S+P GSCI) shifted their April positions in a […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures jump with cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle settled higher on Friday, driven by short-covering in response to strong preliminary cash prices, traders said. April closed 1.375 cents per pound higher at 154.65 cents, and June ended up 1.075 cents at 147.1 cents (all figures US$). A small number of market-ready (cash) cattle in […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs drop with cash, wholesale pork prices
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs turned lower on Thursday, pressured by weaker cash and wholesale pork prices, traders said. April and June closed 1.175 cents per pound lower at 66.825 cents and 77.45 cents, respectively (all figures US$). Wholesale pork prices slumped $1.49 to $68.49 per hundredweight (cwt) on Thursday morning […] Read more
Australia clears JBS bid for pork firm Primo
Sydney | Reuters — Australian regulators have approved a bid by the U.S. arm of Brazilian beef giant JBS to acquire Australian Consolidated Food Holdings Pty. Ltd. (Primo) for an undisclosed sum, Treasurer Joe Hockey said on Wednesday. The approval by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), subject to conditions at Primo’s abattoir, allows the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs veer sharply higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures posted steep gains Wednesday on fund buying and cash price optimism that wiped out Tuesday’s losses, traders said. April closed up the three-cent-per-pound price limit at 154.05 cents, and June ended 2.65 cents higher at 146.325 cents (all figures US$). CME live cattle’s trading limit […] Read more
Worker shortage handicapping ag sector
Plants have jobs but not enough Canadians interested in them
Reading Time: 5 minutes A chronic shortage of workers isn’t just a problem for meat packers, but all of agriculture, say experts. Mark Chambers sees the impact every day at Sunterra Farms, but also knows his experience is being mirrored across the country. “If we can’t get enough labour to produce the value-added products or to expand and grow, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Profit-taking sinks CME live cattle, hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed sharply lower on Tuesday, racked by profit-taking and fund liquidation, traders said. April closed 2.4 cents lower at 151.05 cents, and June down 2.125 cents, to 143.675 cents (all figures US$). Funds sold after April and June drifted below their 40-day moving average of […] Read more
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