CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle firm, hogs rebound

Hogs up off lowest since Feb. 4

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on a round of technical buying on Tuesday after snapping an eight-session losing streak on Monday, traders said. Hog futures rallied on a bargain-buying bounce after sinking to their lowest in more than a month and feeder cattle futures also were firm. CME April […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle bounce from multi-month lows

Chicago lean hogs extend declines

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rebounded from multi-month lows on Monday, while hog futures eased on follow-through selling after notching a limit-down decline on Friday. Live cattle futures snapped an eight-session losing streak that saw the April contract shed seven per cent of its value and drove prices to their lowest […] Read more


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle hit multi-month lows

Hogs drop by daily limit

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to a six-month low and feeder cattle hit a nine-month low on Friday, while lean hog futures sank by the daily exchange-imposed trading limit. Follow-through selling pushed down cattle contracts after a string of losses in the markets, brokers said. Recent weakness in wholesale […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, feeder cattle sag to four-month lows

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures slumped on Thursday, with live cattle and feeder cattle setting four-month lows. The cattle markets came under continued pressure from weakness in equities, which lost ground as the Ukraine crisis kept investors on edge, traders said. In grain markets, soaring costs for corn and wheat threaten […] Read more


Good and bad in livestock outlook

Good and bad in livestock outlook

Reading Time: < 1 minute “It will be another year of split margins in the cattle sector — positive for cow-calf and pressured for feedlots,” says a new forecast from Farm Credit Canada. The report also predicts higher prices for pigs but that feed costs for farrow-to-finish operations in the West mean “some profitability challenges may be present.” Not surprisingly, […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU predicts pain for farmers, consumers from Ukraine crisis

Brussels | Reuters — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and EU sanctions on Moscow will prove painful for farmers, consumers, fertilizer makers and exporters of farm products, the European Commission warned on Monday. Michael Scannell, deputy director-general of the Commission’s agriculture division, said grain buyers should brace for higher prices given that Russia and Ukraine made […] Read more


Prices for pigs have jumped considerably but costs, particularly for feed, have gone up even faster, says Mark Wipf, hog and feed manager for Lakeside Colony Farming Company.

Slammed by a huge jump in costs, pork producers are ‘just hanging on’

It’s not just sky-high feed costs — rising bills for heat, freight, and medication have eaten up a hike in prices

Reading Time: 3 minutes Beleaguered hog farmers are finally getting paid more but the extra cash — and then some — is blowing out the door as costs soar. A year ago, it cost about $140 per month to house and feed a pig, said Mark Wipf, hog and feed manager for Lakeside Colony Farming Company, located east of […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs rise again on tight supplies

Rough weather on Plains supports live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed to fresh highs on Tuesday in a seventh straight session of gains, lifted by strong domestic demand and tight supplies of hogs. Broader commodities market gains added support to hogs as concerns about a Russian invasion of Ukraine hammered equities markets and fueled worries […] Read more


CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures extend rally to six days

April live cattle down on day

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose for the sixth straight session on Friday, with the market underpinned by strong domestic demand and tight supplies as slaughter numbers lagged well behind the 2021 pace. Traders also noted technical buying helped accelerate the gains. April lean hog futures gained 1.825 cents to 109.4 […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CME lean hog index (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit six-month high on strong cash markets

April live cattle end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose 2.1 per cent on Thursday, with the front-month contract hitting its highest in six months on strength in the cash market, traders said. April lean hog futures gained 2.175 cents, to 107.575 cents/lb., hitting a new contract high and briefly topping the high end of […] Read more