Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended firm on Tuesday, with the front-month contract hitting its highest in more than eight years as tight supplies continued to underpin the market. Hog futures ended mixed. Expectations for strong cash prices for the next few months due to tight supplies supported cattle futures. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures strong
Lean hog futures close mixed
Now’s the time for a second look a cattle price insurance, says expert
Livestock Price Insurance and AgriStability make sense to enter when cattle prices are up
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Livestock Price Insurance has never looked better for cattle producers, says a farm management specialist. Cattle prices have risen steadily over the past 12 months and are approaching the highs seen in 2014 and 2015, said Ben Hamm, an official with Manitoba Agriculture. “We saw some significant profitability in 2014-2015,” Hamm said […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures dip on profit-taking
Chicago lean hog futures also fall
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Monday, with a mild round of profit-taking pulling prices from eight-year highs. But concerns about tight supplies limited the selling. Hog futures also were weaker, pressured by a government report that showed robust stocks of pork. Thinly traded February live cattle futures dipped […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle consolidate after hitting new contract high
Chicago lean hogs end lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures consolidated on Friday after setting a string on contract highs recently, while lean hog futures eased. The cattle market looks ripe for a correction after futures rose this month on tightening U.S. supplies, brokers said. However, cattle inventories look even smaller than expected as ranchers […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle set high on Brazil halting beef exports to China
April hogs close lower, June up
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures reached a contract high on Thursday amid hopes that Chinese importers will buy more U.S. beef after rival supplier Brazil suspended shipments to China, analysts said. Brazil said it would halt beef exports to China, the main destination for its overseas shipments, after confirming a […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures sag as pork prices retreat
February live cattle up, April down
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed lower on Wednesday, retreating from six-week highs set a day earlier as wholesale pork prices backed down after spiking higher early in the week. Live cattle futures closed mixed, underpinned by surging beef prices. At the CME, April hogs settled down 2.55 cents at […] Read more
Brazil to halt beef exports to China after BSE case
Indications point to 'atypical' case
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s beef exports to China will be halted starting Thursday after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was confirmed in the northern state of Para, the country’s agriculture and livestock ministry said on Wednesday. The suspension is part of an animal health pact previously agreed between China and Brazil […] Read more
Heifer exodus a year ago means smaller calf crop coming
The number of heifers being sold jumped substantially in the first half of 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute More heifers went to market last year. “Alberta beef producers retained fewer breeding heifers for replacement in 2022, suggesting expansion is not in the immediate future,” said provincial livestock economist Ann Boyda. “The Canfax Cattle on Feed reports show a 9.4 per cent increase in heifer placement in feedlots in 2022 compared to 2021. Heifer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures climb
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle and hog futures came out of their U.S. Presidents Day break trading higher, with front-month live cattle posting eight-year highs. CME February 2023 live cattle touched 164.975 cents/lb. in Tuesday’s trade before closing at 164.75 cents, up 1.175 cents from Friday’s close and the highest close for the front-month contract […] Read more
New training for feedlot workers
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has created a series of training videos for feedlot employees. The short videos, made by feedlot veterinarian Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, are meant to supplement training provided by herd health veterinarians and nutritionists. “Without well-trained and competent feedlot processors and pen riders, it is hard to effectively manage animal health […] Read more