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

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle futures firm on weaker corn

China's COVID lockdowns pressure CME hogs

Chicago | Reuters — CME live and feeder cattle futures firmed on Monday, supported by lower corn futures, an input cost to feeder cattle, analysts said. “The big driver there was just lower corn,” said Josh Steinhilber, broker at Cattlehedgers.com. “We got spillover into the live cattle.” CME August feeder cattle added 5.8 cents, to […] Read more

CME June 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 100-day moving average (brown line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall to lowest since early February

CME cattle also weak

Chicago | Reuters — CME hog futures dropped to their lowest in nearly three months on Friday, pressured by concerns about consumer demand as summer grilling season nears, traders said. Cattle futures also fell. Some end-of-month fund liquidation likely added to the weakness in livestock contracts, traders said. “There is not a whole lot of […] Read more


What to make of the Cattle on Feed report

What to make of the Cattle on Feed report

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: An Economics 101 look at what the numbers are really telling us

The most recent USDA Cattle on Feed report released in January showed the total number at the beginning of the year at 12.037 million head, up one per cent from Jan. 1, 2021. Initial media and analytical reports were calling the report bearish. This is the second-highest Jan. 1 inventory since the series began in […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures up off three days of losses

Chicago live cattle down, feeder cattle firm

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures rose on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak that pushed prices to their lowest since March 7 on some mild bargain buying, traders said. But the gains were kept in check by concerns that the growth of the Chinese herd could slow buying demand from the world’s […] Read more


File photo of a rooster in a domestic Canadian flock. (D-Huss/iStock/Getty Images)

Avian flu hits domestic birds in New Brunswick

More cases also booked in Ontario, Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan

Another province in Atlantic Canada has booked its first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic birds this year — this time in a non-commercial flock in southeastern New Brunswick. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it confirmed the presence of high-path avian flu on Monday in a small flock at Turtle Creek, about […] Read more

CME June 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 30-, 40- and 200-day moving averages (pink, brown, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures weak as feeding costs rise

Corn's 'unending rally' drags on feeder cattle

Chicago | Reuters — CME cattle futures fell on Wednesday as traders assessed higher feeding costs due to a sharp gains in corn. Hog futures were also weak, falling for the sixth time in seven sessions, with prospects for more COVID-19 lockdowns in China further chilling the already weak export demand from the world’s top […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures fall to lowest since early March

June live cattle up on bargain buying

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell to their lowest in more than seven weeks on Tuesday, pressured by follow-through selling after dropping in four of the previous five sessions with supplies in focus as kill rates were expected to rise. Concerns about lower pork consumption in China due to COVID-19-related lockdowns in […] Read more



Calves are being sold sooner than expected while cow culling rates are higher than normal.  Photo: Thinkstock

Klassen: Adverse weather tempers feeder cattle market

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$4 on either side of unchanged. Southern Alberta experienced severe wind and dust storms last week which softened buying interest from a large portion of feedlot operators. At the same time, grass conditions are quite variable across the Prairies despite the recent precipitation. Cooler temperatures […] Read more

Photo: File

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures hit two week lows on robust supplies

Chicago | Reuters – CME Group live cattle and hog futures fell to two-week lows on Monday, pressured by bearish government supply reports released late on Friday. “There’s no shortage of market supplies or beef production until the fourth quarter at the earliest,” brokerage StoneX wrote in a note to clients. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on […] Read more