CME December 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs climb on bullish pork export prospects

Live cattle continue following hogs higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed higher on Friday for a second session on expectations of increased export demand for U.S. pork after rival supplier Germany confirmed a case of African swine fever in a wild boar. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) October lean hog futures settled up 2.2 cents at 66.575 cents/lb. […] Read more

CME October 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures limit up on pork export optimism

CME live cattle follow lean hogs higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed up their daily limit on Thursday as confirmation of a case of African swine fever in a wild boar in Germany fueled expectations that pork importers would turn to the United States for supplies, traders said. Firming cash hog values and rising wholesale pork prices added […] Read more


(Zevei-Wenhui/iStock/Getty Images)

Swine fever found in Germany putting pork exports at risk

Country had been fencing off borders against wild boar

Berlin/Hamburg | Reuters — Germany confirmed on Thursday that African swine fever (ASF) had been found in a dead wild boar near its border with Poland, threatening pork exports to China from Europe’s biggest pork producer, which were worth US$1.2 billion last year. Authorities in the German state of Brandenburg quarantined a 15-km area around […] Read more

The massive cull of China’s pig herd because of African swine fever hasn’t made a lot of headlines but has been a “game changer” for the global meat trade, says a leading market analyst. Pictured is the pork meat hall inside the Yuegezhuang wholesale market in Beijing in June.

African swine fever: The other virus that is changing the world order

A third of global pork production has been vaporized, and the effects are being felt worldwide

Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s another virus that has been upending the world order in ways that no one ever could have predicted, although it’s mostly flying under the radar. “Right now, 75 per cent of the world’s hogs are threatened, and a third of the global swine herd just vanished last year,” Brett Stuart of Global AgriTrends said […] Read more


CME October 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise as cash values firm

Live cattle follow cash cattle, beef prices lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Wednesday, reaching a four-month high on firming cash hog prices, optimism about pork demand and technical buying, analysts said. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange October lean hog futures contract settled above its 200-day moving average, rising 1.475 cents to end at 61.375 cents/lb. after reaching 61.725 […] Read more

File photo of domestic hogs on a German farm. (FooTToo/iStock/Getty Images)

Germany reports first suspected case of African swine fever

German producers currently exporting pork to China

Berlin | Reuters — Germany’s ministry of food and agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for […] Read more


More cattle are being sold through online auctions but live auctions aren’t going away any time soon, says Jason Danard of Calgary Stockyards (on left with father Don and brother Bryan).

Online cattle sales on the rise, but live auctions not going anywhere

Internet auctions were key at the start of pandemic but live sales are only down slightly

Reading Time: 3 minutes The pandemic has boosted the use of online auctions but selling cattle the old-fashioned way isn’t about to disappear, says a veteran auctioneer. “Sales at the auction market are down slightly but not a lot,” said Jason Danard, vice-president of Strathmore-based Calgary Stockyards and head of its online division, The Electronic Auction Market, which is […] Read more

(File photo)

U.S. rolls back inspection rules for egg products

New rule to affect 83 U.S. facilities

Chicago | Reuters — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will stop requiring U.S. plants that produce egg products to have full-time government inspectors, in the first update of inspection methods in 50 years. Under a new rule that takes effect immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow companies such as Cargill and Sonstegard […] Read more


CME October 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on expectations of firm cash values

Hog market appears technically overbought

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Tuesday on expectations of firmer cash prices as supplies of market-ready cattle tighten, following a drop this past spring in the number of cattle placed in feedlots, traders said. “Packer margins are huge; they are still over $350 a head. […] Read more

Battered pork sector proposes ‘simple solution’ to trigger aid

Battered pork sector proposes ‘simple solution’ to trigger aid

Upping the payout from AgriStability would throw a lifeline to hog producers facing ruin, says pork council

Reading Time: 3 minutes With pork producers fighting to stay afloat but government unwilling to step in, industry leaders have come up with a new pitch: Instead of making it easier to get assistance, have AgriStability pay out more when things are really bad. In a recent letter to the country’s ag ministers, Canadian Pork Council chair Rick Bergmann […] Read more