CME April 2023 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit three-week peak on tightening U.S. supply

Weak cash prices drag on hog futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures marched to a three-week high on Wednesday on expectations for tighter U.S. supplies, analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also advanced, while lean hogs softened. Technical buying helped support live cattle, analysts said, after a drop near eight-week lows last week was seen as overdone. The […] Read more

CME April 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures top two-week highs

Chicago lean hog futures ease

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures topped another two-week high on Tuesday before finishing slightly firmer, while lean hog futures ended lower. Technical buying helped support gains in cattle, as the market has rebounded after nearing a two-month low last week, brokers said. A smaller U.S. cattle herd is also supportive […] Read more


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland walk with copies of the 2023-24 budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 28, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Patrick Doyle)

Interest-free cash advances get extra lift in federal budget

Fertilizer diversification, solids non-fat processing also up for funding

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest budget envelope for Canadian farmers up against rising costs of production includes a temporary boost to the interest-free portion of cash advances. Freeland’s 2023 federal budget, released Tuesday, includes $13 million in 2023-24 for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to temporarily increase the interest-free limit for loans under its Advance […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Food sales grew but margins tightened in 2022, FCC says

Modest further growth expected this year

Food and beverages sales increased in Canada last year, even as margins hit an historic low and consumers chose Canadian less. According to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report, released Tuesday, sales increased 11 per cent to $156 billion in 2022. These gains came largely from higher export values and strength in the grain […] Read more


CME June 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle exceed two-week highs in rebound

Lean hogs up off last week's lows

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed stronger and touched their highest prices in more than two weeks on Monday as livestock markets recovered from recent losses, analysts said. The Dow and S+P 500 also ended higher, after turmoil in the banking sector recently weighed on equity and commodity markets. Cattle […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures recover after ‘complete downhill slide’

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended higher on Friday as the market recovered after sliding to life-of-contract lows this week. The market was due for a bounce as losses were overdone, brokers said. “We’ve been on just about a complete downhill slide,” said Karl Setzer, brokerage research lead at Mid-Co […] Read more


(TysonFoods.com)

Tyson Foods plant closure raises antitrust concerns among US farmers, experts

Reuters – Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N gave its chicken suppliers two months’ notice of its plan to shut a Virginia processing plant in May, raising concerns among farmers and legal experts about the company’s compliance with antitrust regulations requiring it to give 90 days’ notice before ending a contract. The planned closure of the plant has left […] Read more

CME April 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs slide to new contract lows, finish mixed

April live cattle down, feeders up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures crumbled to new life-of-contract lows on Thursday, before finishing mixed, on concerns about poor demand for U.S. pork, analysts said. The market has tanked since last week, with additional pressure stemming from weak cash prices and larger-than-expected supplies of hogs. The front-month contract is down […] Read more


File photo of goats on display at the Hanover Agricultural Fair in Grunthal, Man. in August 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments

Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more

CME June 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs fall to contract lows on demand worries

April cattle also down on day

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures tumbled to contract lows again on Wednesday on concerns about lower demand, analysts said. Worries about the risk for a recession to reduce consumers’ meat purchases hung over livestock markets, particularly for expensive cuts, said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for broker StoneX. Wheat and […] Read more