Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures on Tuesday dropped to their lowest prices since January on technical selling and concerns about risks to demand for U.S. meat, brokers said. U.S. pork exports to China have tumbled this year as Chinese producers rebuild their herds after outbreaks of the pig disease African swine fever. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop to January lows
Lower grain values continue to lift cattle
Rotational grazing doesn’t make rain, but it helps to keep it, study finds
Five-year, project finds high-intensity grazing boosts water infiltration by up to 30 per cent
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rotational grazing isn’t just good for the soil — it turns out the practice results in a huge bump in soil water infiltration. “What we were finding for water infiltration was that AMP (adaptive multi-paddock) grazing was adding about 30 per cent more water infiltration into the soil,” said Timm Döbert, who was part of […] Read more
Klassen: Feedlot demand up prior to seasonal rally
Market for calves 'boiling hot' in Manitoba
For the week ending April 30, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Yearlings traded $8 lower as much as $5 higher. Severe discounts were noted on fleshier cattle; some auction barns reported the bulk of cattle over 800 pounds were medium to heavier flesh. Deferred live cattle futures were under pressure but the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle futures firm on weaker corn
China's COVID lockdowns pressure CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters — CME live and feeder cattle futures firmed on Monday, supported by lower corn futures, an input cost to feeder cattle, analysts said. “The big driver there was just lower corn,” said Josh Steinhilber, broker at Cattlehedgers.com. “We got spillover into the live cattle.” CME August feeder cattle added 5.8 cents, to […] Read more
Prices are rising, but optimism isn’t for battered cattle sector
Herd numbers have been shrinking for 16 years, and that’s something the sector can’t cope with forever
Reading Time: 5 minutes As producers busy themselves with spring calving, the Canadian cattle herd continues to shrink. “Cattle supplies are getting smaller. They have in Canada for many years, and now the United States is into its third year of liquidation as well,” said Anne Wasko, market analyst for Gateway Livestock Services who also ranches in Saskatchewan. On […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall to lowest since early February
CME cattle also weak
Chicago | Reuters — CME hog futures dropped to their lowest in nearly three months on Friday, pressured by concerns about consumer demand as summer grilling season nears, traders said. Cattle futures also fell. Some end-of-month fund liquidation likely added to the weakness in livestock contracts, traders said. “There is not a whole lot of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures up off three days of losses
Chicago live cattle down, feeder cattle firm
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures rose on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak that pushed prices to their lowest since March 7 on some mild bargain buying, traders said. But the gains were kept in check by concerns that the growth of the Chinese herd could slow buying demand from the world’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures weak as feeding costs rise
Corn's 'unending rally' drags on feeder cattle
Chicago | Reuters — CME cattle futures fell on Wednesday as traders assessed higher feeding costs due to a sharp gains in corn. Hog futures were also weak, falling for the sixth time in seven sessions, with prospects for more COVID-19 lockdowns in China further chilling the already weak export demand from the world’s top […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures fall to lowest since early March
June live cattle up on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell to their lowest in more than seven weeks on Tuesday, pressured by follow-through selling after dropping in four of the previous five sessions with supplies in focus as kill rates were expected to rise. Concerns about lower pork consumption in China due to COVID-19-related lockdowns in […] Read more
We can’t hide our head in the sand when it comes to Johne’s disease
There are concerns that this contagious and chronic condition is on the rise in beef herds
Reading Time: 4 minutes There has been lots said about Johne’s disease over the years but a recent webinar by Dr. Cheryl Waldner at beefresearch.ca gave me lots of food for thought. Herds are getting bigger and as that happens, they are more confined. And since the bacterium that causes Johne’s can be spread in the manure, infection via […] Read more