CME December 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle sink to June lows

Lean hogs set contract lows

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures plunged to four-month lows on Monday under pressure from bigger-than-expected placements into U.S. feedlots last month. Lean hog futures set contract lows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a monthly report issued after trading ended on Friday, said placements of cattle in feedlots during September totaled […] Read more

Prop 12 has been in force in California since July 1, but by the start of 2024 pork distributors will need to submit third-party certification to say they are compliant with the new regulation.

The murky future of Prop 12 trade impacts

Can California really force the pork industry in other jurisdictions to play by its rules?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s pork industry says California’s attempts to impose animal care orders on out-of-state farmers aren’t allowed under trade regulations, but there’s little clarity on which rules that would break. “It’s not permitted to create non-tariff trade barriers … this clearly has done that,” said Stephen Heckbert, executive director of the Canadian Pork […] Read more


CME December 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures hit contract lows

Cattle futures also sag

Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday and cattle futures also retreated, pressured by technical selling and worries that a slowing global economy could hurt demand for meat, traders said. Hog futures fell the most, with the benchmark December contract settling down two cents, […] Read more

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns outside West Kelowna, B.C. on Aug. 18, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

AgriRecovery feed, freight, breeding herd aid set for Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C.

Feds, provinces announce combined $365 million in aid programs

The federal and Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia governments are jointly putting up $365 million to support ranchers and farmers up against this summer’s drought and wildfire damage. The feds on Friday announced their 60 per cent, or $219 million, share of AgriRecovery program funding for the three westernmost provinces. “I’ve had the opportunity to […] Read more


Fried foie gras, grilled. (Vichie81/iStock/Getty Images)

French foie gras makers toast rising output after bird flu gloom

Canada, U.S., Japan ban French poultry imports since vaccination

Paris | Reuters — French foie gras output is set to rise for the first time in five years in 2023 as France starts vaccinating ducks against bird flu that has destroyed flocks in recent years, but trade bans that followed will weigh on exports, producers said on Thursday. France has been among the countries […] Read more

CME January 2024 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle sag on packer margins, beef export sales

December lean hogs turn slightly lower

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures eased and feeder cattle tumbled to June lows at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Thursday as poor margins for U.S. beef processors limited demand for livestock, brokers said. A marketing-year low in weekly U.S. beef export sales also hung over the market. Meat companies are grappling with tight […] Read more


Flu viruses hijack proteins like ANP32 inside cells to help themselves replicate, and the edits in chickens were designed to stop the growth of bird flu.

Gene editing offers chickens some protection against bird flu, study shows

About half the birds will still get breakthrough infections at higher exposure rates

Reading Time: 2 minutes Scientists in Britain have found they can partially protect chickens from bird flu infections by editing their genes, signaling a new potential strategy to reduce the spread of the deadly virus.  Highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as bird flu, has spread to new corners of the globe since 2022, wiping out millions of poultry birds […] Read more

Ron Kostyshyn is sworn in on Oct. 18, 2023 as Manitoba’s minister for agriculture, with Premier Wab Kinew at left. (Government of Manitoba video screengrab via YouTube)

Former ag minister returns in new Manitoba cabinet

Kinew names Kostyshyn to ag portfolio

Incoming Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has brought a former provincial agriculture minister back to the cabinet table to handle the ag file. Ron Kostyshyn, who from 2012 to 2016 was then-premier Greg Selinger’s ag minister while serving as MLA for the northwestern riding of Swan River, was sworn in Wednesday as minister of agriculture in […] Read more


CME December 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages and June 2024 live cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures mixed as packer margins stay in red

December lean hogs up off Tuesday's contract low; deferred months lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures were mixed on Wednesday, as beef packer margins stayed in the red and cash cattle prices were expected to be steady to higher, traders said. Hog futures were also mixed on the day. February and May lean hog futures dipped to new contract lows on sluggish […] Read more

(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Ontario demand sets the price structure for calves

Corn in Ontario at $232/tonne, U.S. corn in southern Alberta at $315

For the week ending Oct. 14, western Canadian yearling prices were steady to $4 higher compared to a week earlier. Calves in the range of 500 to 800 pounds traded $4-$6 lower in Alberta. However, in eastern Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, calves in this weight category were relatively unchanged compared to the previous week. In […] Read more