Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures jumped to contract highs on Tuesday as traders worried about snow and cold temperatures slowing shipments of livestock to processing plants. Lean hog futures also rose in a turnaround from a slide to contract lows last week. Traders focused on the wintry weather as forecasters predicted more […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle set contract highs on winter weather
U.S. livestock: Hogs sag on large supply, shrug off trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures slumped on Monday as concerns about mounting supplies overshadowed hopes that Washington and Beijing will resolve the trade war that has reduced shipments of U.S. pork to China. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods thanks to […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle set one-year high on weather, supply concerns
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures reached a one-year high on Friday on concerns that cold, snowy weather next week may tighten supplies by slowing weight gain and transportation of livestock. Snowfall is expected to increase across the U.S. Plains, where the temperature outlook also is trending colder, according to weather forecaster Radiant Solutions. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs recover on hopes for China trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures jumped on Thursday on increased optimism about the potential for progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing. The top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators resumed high-level negotiations to hash out a deal that could end their trade war, just over a week before a U.S.-imposed deadline to […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs slide to four-month low on burdensome supply
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures dropped to their lowest prices in four months on Wednesday under pressure from large supplies and low pork prices. Farmers have ramped up hog production due to low prices for grains used for feed and as processing companies have built new plants to slaughter swine in recent years. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures jump on snowstorm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures approached a one-year high on Tuesday on concerns that wintry weather in the middle of the country will temporarily tighten supplies. Snow in states such as Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa this week is expected to slow the transportation of cattle to processing plants run by companies such as […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs rise on hopes for China trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — Hopes for progress in talks to resolve the U.S.-China trade war lifted Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures on Friday, traders said. Wall Street and commodities advanced after Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that China offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from […] Read more
U.S. shutdown sends grain traders, farmers hunting for data
Chicago | Reuters — When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of key farm reports would not be released on Friday due to the partial government shutdown, the phones at crop forecaster Gro Intelligence blew up. The USDA was set to release its views on the projected size of U.S. soybean stockpiles, among […] Read more
McDonald’s to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply
Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its global beef supply, fueling projections that other restaurants will follow suit. The move by the world’s biggest fast-food chain addresses concerns that the overuse of antibiotics vital to fighting human infections in farm animals may diminish the drugs’ effectiveness […] Read more
U.S. grains: Bigger-than-expected supplies knock down prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures slumped on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said farmers and crop handlers had more supplies in storage than analysts expected. The bigger-than-expected inventories from previous harvests add to an oversupply as U.S. farmers are starting to bring in another massive corn and soybean crop from their […] Read more