(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures down on big supplies, economic jitters

Surge in U.S. COVID-19 cases rattles Wall Street

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures eased on Wednesday and hog futures were mostly lower on ample livestock supplies and concerns about rising coronavirus infections and their negative impact on the economy. Wall Street’s three major indexes tumbled on Wednesday and crude oil plunged more than five per cent as a surge in U.S. […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures rise as frozen meat stocks decline

Exporters drew down stored supplies during packer slowdowns

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures firmed on Tuesday following two sessions of declines after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed a larger-than-anticipated decline in cold-storage stocks of pork and beef. The USDA stocks report, released after the close on Monday, showed a record-large drop in U.S. frozen pork inventories in […] Read more



CME August 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop as China tightens food import restrictions

USDA report bearish on cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures retreated on Monday, with actively traded nearby contracts sinking more than three per cent and hitting life-of-contract lows amid worries about pork exports to China, which has stepped up oversight of imported goods due to COVID-19. China’s customs authority said on Sunday it had suspended poultry imports […] Read more


Mike Martin, right and son Ali are part of the family operated mixed farming operation on Scotland’s  Black Isle peninsula, where they produce cereal crops, potatoes and beef.

Battling the Scottish weather and EU three-crop rule

Beef operation includes two-year-old ‘store’ cattle for finishing

Farming in the northwest of Scotland can be tough enough given the somewhat challenging weather, but having to fight over which crops to plant is an added hassle. Mike Martin runs Garguston Farm at Muir of Ord on the Black Isle peninsula, with his sons Ali and Johnnie operating a mixed crop and beef enterprise. […] Read more

CME August 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures drop ahead of USDA data

Cattle on Feed report could be bearish Monday

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures fell on Friday, as hog producers and cattle ranchers continue to struggle with a massive backlog even as many slaughterhouses come back online. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle on Feed report, released Friday after the market close, showed May feedlot placements at 99 per cent compared […] Read more


A customer shops at a pork meat hall at the Yuegezhuang wholesale market in Beijing on June 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

Food exporters to China asked to declare produce coronavirus-free

Declaration puts onus on exporters for product safety

Beijing | Reuters — China’s customs authority has asked food exporters to the country to sign a declaration their produce is not contaminated by the novel coronavirus, three people who received a letter said on Friday. The declaration, seen by Reuters, may be an effort by China to reduce the additional testing it has carried […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures, beef prices decline

Lean hogs up amid technical buying

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell Thursday as boxed beef prices tumbled under pressure from rising production. Beef output has increased as meat companies increase slaughtering after temporarily closing processing plants in April and May because of outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus among workers. Processors killed an estimated 120,000 cattle on Thursday, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Co-op Refinery, union reach tentative labour deal

Proposal now goes to ratification vote

The operators of one of Western Canada’s biggest fuel refineries have reached a tentative deal with the union representing workers locked out since December. The deal, if ratified in an employee vote, would end the lockout at Federated Co-operatives’ (FCL) Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC), a major bulk fuel supplier to farmers and rural co-ops across […] Read more

File photo of a river container terminal facility at Liverpool, England. (DavidCPhotography/iStock/Getty Images)

U.K. aims to join Trans-Pacific Partnership

London | Reuters –– The United Kingdom announced on Wednesday it would pursue accession to a revamped version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “Today we’re announcing our intent to pursue accession to CPTPP, one of the world’s largest free trading areas,” Trade Secretary Liz Truss said. The British government said joining CPTPP would help the U.K. […] Read more