Chicago | Reuters — U.S. food safety and the health of plant workers will be at risk from new federal rules that allow meat companies to slaughter hogs as fast as they want and shift the role of government inspectors, food and environmental advocates said on Tuesday. The warnings about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s […] Read more

Safety advocates sound alarm over new U.S. hog slaughter rules

Hog market at seasonal lows, turnaround expected
MarketsFarm — The Canadian hog market may be at its seasonal lows, but tightening worldwide supplies should underpin values over the next few months. “We’re at a seasonal time of year when prices move lower,” said Brad Marceniuk, livestock economist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, pointing to higher U.S. slaughter numbers and a slowdown in North American […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs rise on expectations for Chinese buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures climbed to their highest price since July on Monday on expectations for Chinese buying, while technical selling pushed down cattle futures. Meat traders anticipate China will increase pork imports to offset an expected shortage caused by an outbreak of African swine fever, a fatal pig virus that […] Read more

China to exempt U.S. pork, soybeans from additional tariffs
Shanghai | Reuters — China will exempt some agricultural products from additional tariffs on U.S. goods, including pork and soybeans, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Friday, in the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new round of talks aimed at curbing a bruising trade war. The United States and China have both […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle extend recovery from nine-year low
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures shot higher on Wednesday on short covering and technical buying as the market extended a rebound from a nine-year low this week. CME October live cattle futures ended up 2.35 cents at 98.5 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The market has climbed since October live cattle […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle fall as cash cattle, beef prices sag
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell to contract lows on Thursday as cash cattle prices declined from last week and wholesale beef prices extended their slide, traders said. Cash cattle traded at $100/cwt in Texas and Kansas, traders said, down from $103 last week (all figures US$). “Boxed beef is […] Read more

Industry groups hail appointment of new China envoy
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada has appointed veteran business consultant Dominic Barton as ambassador to China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as the government grapples with a major diplomatic and trade dispute between the nations. Barton, 56, a Ugandan-born Canadian who stepped down as global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey and Co. […] Read more

UN report on livestock and climate change gets lost in translation
Panel of climate change experts say meat production must be sustainable — but few noted that distinction
Reading Time: 3 minutes “Eat less meat” was the phrase of choice for describing a new report from the United Nations’ climate change panel. Those three words appeared in headlines in publications such as Time magazine, the National Post, and the Times of London. But the report itself said something different, said the science director of the Beef Cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs, cattle drop on large supplies
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures crumbled under the weight of large supplies and a lack of news about trade talks with China on Tuesday, while cattle futures also weakened. The declines were a turnaround from Monday, when hog futures climbed on hopes for easing tensions in the trade war between Washington and […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit up as trade tensions cool
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures jumped Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump predicted a trade deal with China after positive gestures by Beijing. Signs of cooling trade tensions supported the market, traders said, after China imposed retaliatory tariffs on imports of U.S. pork and other farm products last year […] Read more