CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog, cattle futures end lower

Prices take pause off contract highs

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog and cattle futures closed lower on Thursday, retreating as traders paused to book profits after the benchmark contracts in both markets climbed to life-of-contract highs. CME April lean hogs settled down 0.75 cent at 98.375 cents/lb., easing after notching a contract high at 101.25 cents (all figures […] Read more

Employees walk around with face masks at the JBS USA meat packing plant at Greeley, Colorado on April 14, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

JBS reaches ‘icebreaker’ settlement of beef price-fixing claims

Reuters — JBS has agreed to pay US$52.5 million to settle litigation accusing meatpacking companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $63 billion-a-year U.S. beef market in order to inflate prices and boost profit. The preliminary settlement by the Brazilian company and its U.S. units with so-called direct purchasers was disclosed on Tuesday, and […] Read more


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cash prices, slaughter pace support CME live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied to fresh contract highs on Wednesday on strong cash market prices and rising slaughter rates amid seasonally tightening cattle supplies. A winter storm moving across the central U.S. on Wednesday did not noticeably impact cattle and beef production, although traders were watching for any […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog, cattle futures hit contract highs

U.S. storm could drag on livestock transport

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose more than two per cent on Tuesday, with most contract months setting life-of-contract highs on fund-driven buying and worries about a winter storm that could slow the transport of animals at a time of tight U.S. hog supplies, traders said. Benchmark CME April lean […] Read more


A supplied aerial photo of vehicles blocking through traffic on Feb. 1, 2022 at the Canada-U.S. border crossing between Coutts, Alta. and Sweet Grass, Montana. (Photo courtesy Alberta RCMP)

Alberta RCMP to start unclogging major border crossing

Blockade 'not a peaceful assembly,' Mounties say

A major supply chain corridor connecting Alberta and the U.S. is expected to be cleared of protestors and reopened to traffic on Tuesday, Alberta RCMP have warned. Protestors in vehicles formed a blockade Saturday on Highway 4 leading to the province’s only 24-hour Canada-U.S. border crossing, at Coutts, Alta., about 100 km southeast of Lethbridge. […] Read more

Reading articles exposes us to approaches to animal health, but also management and many, many more topics related to cattle production.

Use that extra at-home time to boost your learning

Fewer meetings and networking opportunities offer more time to discover other info sources

Reading Time: 2 minutes As the world is recovering from and dealing with COVID-19 in 2022, we all are becoming more accustomed to keeping our bubble small. By spending more time at home and on our farms and ranches — and relying more on deliveries instead of getting out in person — how do we keep up with improvements […] Read more


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle end higher on rising slaughter pace

Hogs up in rangebound trade

Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures hit the highest in nearly a month on Monday, supported by an improving U.S. slaughter pace and signs of a shrinking U.S. cattle herd, traders said. CME April live cattle futures settled 1.425 cents higher at 144.525 cents/lb. after reaching 144.825 cents, the contract’s […] Read more

File photo of Canadian beef on display in a grocery store in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Philippines ends import block on Canadian beef

Ban imposed following atypical BSE finding

The Philippines has lifted the temporary suspension on imports of Canadian beef it imposed after the discovery of Canada’s first case of BSE in six years. Manila had announced its temporary ban following the confirmation in mid-December of atypical BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in a beef cow in central Alberta. Korea imposed and later lifted […] Read more


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures up with daily slaughter levels

Hogs up on technical buying, cash prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures firmed on Friday as daily processing levels began to rebound, a sign that COVID-related staffing woes may be easing, traders said. Meatpackers have struggled with staffing shortages due to the surge in Omicron coronavirus infections, traders said, limiting production in recent weeks. Beef processors slaughtered an […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop on profit-taking, technical selling

Faster slaughter pace drags on cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell on Thursday, dragged by technical selling and profit-taking following a recent rally to contract highs. Tight U.S. hog supplies had fueled the recent gains and remained a supportive factor, but the market was oversold. “We had a key reversal in April hogs yesterday and […] Read more