Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures rose Tuesday in a turnaround from recent losses, supported by a temporary easing of concerns over meat plants’ shutting due to cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus among workers, analysts said. Livestock markets have been fixated on shutdowns of meat plants because processing disruptions cause a backup in supplies […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise as traders hope slaughterhouses reopen soon
Hogs more sensitive to packer disruptions
U.S. livestock: June hogs, cattle plunge limit down
COVID-19 shuts more U.S. meat processors
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures tumbled on Monday on worries about declining U.S. meat processing capacity after Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would indefinitely shut one of its pork plants due to novel coronavirus infections among workers. The closure at Sioux Falls, S.D., affecting four to five per cent of U.S. pork production, […] Read more
Smithfield shutting South Dakota pork plant indefinitely
Major packer warns of meat shortages during pandemic
Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for grocers. Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the U.S. food supply chain, crimping […] Read more
Quebec pork plant to restart at reduced pace
Olymel plant closed due to COVID-19 cases
Olymel plans to gradually bring a hog plant in Quebec’s Mauricie region out of a two-week shutdown starting Tuesday following a number of COVID-19 cases among its employees. The meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group announced Saturday it will resume slaughter and cutting operations at Yamachiche, Que. starting Tuesday. Nine people working at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Futures slide as COVID-19 worries roil market
Concerns over meat processing pace drag on cattle, hogs
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures slumped again on Thursday, volatility roiling the market as it faced resistance over surging stocks and growing concerns that meat packers will close plants in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Lean hog future prices slipped for a second session on concerns about the domestic glut of hog supplies and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Bargain-buying investors rally cattle futures, again
CME June lean hogs down on day
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures surged for a second straight session on Wednesday, as investors kept snapping up deep discounts in futures prices, traders said. Lean hog future prices slipped, as concern continued to mount over a glut of domestic pork supplies and uncertainty on how quickly the U.S. sow herd is shrinking. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Futures surge as investors snap up discounts
June live cattle limit up off Monday's limit-down drop
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures surged on Tuesday — with live cattle futures up to their 4.5-cent expanded limit — as steep discounts in futures prices over the current cash markets wooed investors to buy back in, traders said. Feeder cattle also jumped to their normal trading day limits, as the sector overall […] Read more
Ontario extends RMP deadlines for crops, livestock
Move won't create coverage gaps, Agricorp says
Ontario grain, oilseed and livestock producers will get extra time to apply for, make changes to or cancel coverage under the provincial Risk Management Program (RMP). Agricorp, the province’s ag program delivery agency, announced Wednesday the new deadline for applications or coverage changes for 2020 will be June 30. The previous deadlines to apply or […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures drop as pandemic roils markets
Technical buying lifts hogs, feeder cattle
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures plunged to their daily trading limit on Monday — with prices for the front-month contract hitting the lowest seen since December 2009 — as beef inventories remain robust with much of the U.S. restaurant industry shuttered due to the pandemic. April live cattle were down the 4.5-cent […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low
Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more
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