CME June 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures slide as COVID-19 worries roil market

Concerns over meat processing pace drag on cattle, hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures slumped again on Thursday, volatility roiling the market as it faced resistance over surging stocks and growing concerns that meat packers will close plants in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Lean hog future prices slipped for a second session on concerns about the domestic glut of hog supplies and […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Low-path H7N3 bird flu believed to have gone high-path in U.S.

High-path H7N3 found in South Carolina turkeys

A low-pathogenicity (“low-path”) strain of H7N3 avian influenza that recently turned up in turkeys in the southeastern U.S. appears to have gone high-path. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Thursday confirmed highly-pathogenic H7N3 avian flu in a commercial turkey flock in Chesterfield County, in northern South Carolina. “It […] Read more


A man walks with his pet dog as he talks to a vendor who sells dog meat at a market during the local dog meat festival at Yulin in China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region on June 21, 2018. (File photo: Reuters/Tyrone Siu)

China reclassifies dogs as pets, not livestock

New guidelines drafted in post-virus regulatory push

Shanghai | Reuters — China has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, the agriculture ministry said, part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak that the Humane Society called a potential “game changer” in animal welfare. Though dog meat remains a delicacy in many regions, the ministry of agriculture […] Read more



(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA to probe surging beef prices versus falling cattle prices

Tyson says will co-operate with department's investigation

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department will investigate why a surge in beef prices because of coronavirus-related hoarding did not translate into higher cattle prices for farmers, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The investigation adds scrutiny on the small group of meat companies such as Tyson Foods and Cargill that dominate […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Bargain-buying investors rally cattle futures, again

CME June lean hogs down on day

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures surged for a second straight session on Wednesday, as investors kept snapping up deep discounts in futures prices, traders said. Lean hog future prices slipped, as concern continued to mount over a glut of domestic pork supplies and uncertainty on how quickly the U.S. sow herd is shrinking. […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf poultry plant shuts for ‘deep cleaning’

COVID-19 found in three workers at Brampton facility

One of two Maple Leaf Foods plants at Brampton, Ont. has gone into shutdown mode for “deep cleaning” in the wake of three cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus among its workers. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday that operations at the company’s Kennedy Road poultry slaughter and packing plant in Brampton are suspended “while we complete […] Read more

A look back at past recessions can provide some long-term guidance for cow-calf operators.

Cattle market absorbs recessionary factors

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Experience shows it will take months for the market to recover

North America and the world economy in general will move into contraction phase during 2020. Negative economic data is starting to come out for the first couple of months of the year. Early estimates have Canadian and U.S. GDP contracting by two to four per cent in the first quarter and as much as eight […] Read more


This file photo shows a rack of blood samples being tested for bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand dairy cattle. (Lakeview_Images/iStock/Getty Images)

On-farm tests wrap up in bovine TB probe

CFIA investigation turns up just four positive B.C. cattle

The “trace-in” phase of Canada’s latest bovine tuberculosis (TB) investigation has ended with just four cattle from one British Columbia herd testing positive for the disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week announced all on-farm testing has been completed in its probe, which dates back to November 2018 when lab tests confirmed TB in […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures surge as investors snap up discounts

June live cattle limit up off Monday's limit-down drop

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures surged on Tuesday — with live cattle futures up to their 4.5-cent expanded limit — as steep discounts in futures prices over the current cash markets wooed investors to buy back in, traders said. Feeder cattle also jumped to their normal trading day limits, as the sector overall […] Read more