Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures surged by their three cents/lb. daily price limit on Friday, boosted by investment fund buying and better-than-expected sales in cash cattle markets, traders and analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also climbed by their daily limit, of 4.5 cents/lb., tracking the higher prices in the more […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures limit up on better cash sales

U.S. livestock: Hog futures higher on spreading
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures were narrowly higher in bull-spreading on Thursday as some investors exited positions in nearby contract months ahead of a quarterly government supply report that was released after the close of trading. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in the report said the U.S. hog herd as of June […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Early-week cash prices buoy CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by initial prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle and short-covering after recent market losses, traders said. Thinly traded June futures, which will expire on Friday, led advances. Some investors bought that contract and simultaneously sold deferred months in a trading strategy […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs bounce back on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures finished higher on Tuesday after short-covering and bargain buying reversed recent market losses amid trade fears, analysts said. Hog farmers in the U.S. may face another wave of higher tariffs by China, which placed stiff retaliatory duties on U.S. pork imports in early April. CME hogs […] Read more

Multi-storey hog hotels elevate Chinese industrial farms to new levels
Yaji Mountain, China | Reuters — On Yaji Mountain in southern China, they are checking in the sows 1,000 head per floor in high-rise “hog hotels.” Privately-owned agricultural company Guangxi Yangxiang Co. Ltd. is running two seven-floor sow breeding operations, and is putting up four more, including one with as many as 13 floors that […] Read more

Hog prices steadying as barbecue season nears
CNS Canada — With barbecue season on the horizon, prices for Canadian pork rose during the week ended April 27, breaking out of their month-long fall. The timing could be perfect, as negotiators have already begun working on improving trade relations and cancelling proposed tariffs on Chinese imports of U.S. pork and other goods. “Prices […] Read more

U.S. ethanol makers snap up cheap sorghum after China tariffs
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. ethanol makers have joined global livestock producers to snap up discounted American sorghum supplies after buyers in China backed out of deals due to stiff anti-dumping tariffs on the grain imposed by Beijing in a mounting trade dispute. Sorghum is used to feed animals and represents a fraction of the […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle rise on strong cash markets
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Friday, with nearby contracts supported by firm cash markets and strong wholesale beef values, traders said. Deferred offerings rose as traders covered short positions ahead of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly Cattle on Feed report. The report, released after the close of the […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle rise on strong packer margins
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures firmed on Tuesday, bouncing back from Monday’s declines. Traders said good profit margins at packers supported the gains. April live cattle closed 0.9 cent/lb. higher at 118.05 cents (all figures US$). The contract hit its highest since March 21. June ended up 0.725 cent, to […] Read more

U.S. March hog herd hits record high
Chicago | Reuters — The number of hogs on U.S. farms in the December-February quarter was up 3.1 per cent from the same period a year ago, a record high for the quarter, according to Thursday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report. Farmers added extra pigs, encouraged by less-costly feed during that period and the […] Read more