Reading Time: 4 minutes The beef sector is regaining some optimism, but pork producers are still fighting to stay afloat. “Our producers are losing a lot of money,” said Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director of Alberta Pork. “It truly is, right now, related to COVID-19. The price that we’re seeing that they’re being paid, is related to what is going […] Read more
Hog sector is grim, cattle is recovering
Cattle backlog is being cleared but hog producers are losing upwards of $50 on every pig they sell
U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise on good cash market demand
October live cattle close lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose on Friday on signs of strength in the cash market after prices had stagnated, traders said. “Recent price weakness uncovered fresh demand, triggering buying on the board this morning that tripped buy stops, accelerating gains,” StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman wrote in a note […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures fall after bearish export reports
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog and cattle futures fell on Thursday, pressured by signs of declining export demand for U.S. supplies. The U.S Agriculture Department on Thursday morning said that beef export sales totaled 15,100 tonnes in the week ended July 30, down 50.8 per cent from the 30,700 tonnes reported a […] Read more
Union seeks temporary halt for major Manitoba hog plant
Four Maple Leaf plant staff now COVID-positive
The union for about 2,000 workers at Maple Leaf Foods’ main Canadian hog slaughter and packing plant is calling for the company to put the brakes on production, pending further tests for COVID-19 among employees. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 said Thursday it was “made aware” late Wednesday night of three more […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures steady as investors eye supplies
October lean hogs close higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures steadied on Wednesday, with investors unwilling to push the market above recent highs due to plentiful supplies. Some producer hedging also was noted, traders said. “Everybody is a little too bulled up,” said Larry Hicks at Cattlehedging.com. “Everybody thinks we have worked through the supplies and we have […] Read more
COVID-19 case confirmed at Maple Leaf hog plant
A worker at Maple Leaf Foods’ hog slaughter and processing plant at Brandon, Man. is recovering at home after testing positive for COVID-19, the Manitoba Co-operator has reported. The company said it received word over the long weekend about the case. Citing its own review of the situation and consultation with public health officials, the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures snap winning streak on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures weakened on Tuesday, snapping a five-session streak of gains, as traders took some risk off the table. Hog futures were slightly firmer. Investors shrugged off signs of strength in the cash cattle markets, concerned that the streak that pushed the October contract to a five-month high had […] Read more
Argentina nears China hog deal it hopes could turbocharge local pork production
Buenos Aires | Beijing | Reuters – Argentina is nearing an initial agreement with China that could pave for the way for potential investments by the Asian giant in local pork production for export, Argentina’s undersecretary of trade and investment promotion told Reuters. That could eventually lead to Chinese-backed hog farms in the South American […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures gain, fall short on the week
Lean hogs slip after three days' gains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures gained on Friday, after four consecutive days of declines, as traders anticipated the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle on Feed report. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled up 0.475 cent at 101.325 cents/lb. and October live cattle added 0.5 cent to close at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures ease, demand picture foggy
Hogs up on firmer cash, pork prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell again Thursday, the fourth consecutive step back after reaching a high not seen since early March. “The rally last week was kind of counter-seasonal. You typically don’t rally the cattle in late July, early August, in the dog days of summer,” said Jeff French, an analyst […] Read more
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