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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle climb on firm cash markets

Chicago lean hogs end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher for a second session on Wednesday, lifted by strength in the cash market tied to tightening U.S. cattle supplies, traders said, while tumbling corn prices lifted feeder cattle futures. CME August live cattle futures settled up 1.375 cents at 173.875 cents/lb. (all figures US$). […] Read more

File photo of chicks on a genetic map of a chicken. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Scientists isolate human gene able to fend off most bird flu viruses

Finding may show which bird flu strains have human pandemic potential

London | Reuters — U.K. researchers have homed in on a human gene implicated in thwarting most bird flu viruses from infecting people. Bird flu chiefly spreads among wild birds such as ducks and gulls and can also infect farmed birds and domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and quails. Although the viruses largely affect […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle end higher, lean hogs mixed

Wholesale beef prices seen softening

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Tuesday, rallying after a two-session slide as corn prices dropped and feeder cattle surged, but softening wholesale beef prices hung over the market, traders said. Benchmark CME August live cattle futures settled up 1.9 cents, at 172.5 cents/lb. (all figures US$). October futures […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Fed market supports feeder complex

Strength in loonie tempers market upside

For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian yearlings over 800 lbs. were relatively unchanged. Feeder cattle in the range of 600-700 lbs. were up $4-$8/cwt. The market was hard to define for feeder cattle under 600 lbs. due to limited numbers. Prices for quality calves were unchanged from seven days earlier while straggler types were […] Read more


CME August 2023 live cattle with 20- and 100-day moving averages and October 2023 live cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle weak on large May placements

Slowing beef demand also a factor

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended flat to lower on Monday on larger-than-expected feedlot placements in May and expectations for slower demand for beef for outdoor grilling following the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Sharply higher feed corn prices early in Monday’s trading session weighed on the live and feeder cattle […] Read more

A chicken salad featuring Upside Foods’ cell-cultivated meat. (UpsideFoods.com)

U.S. regulator allows first sales of lab-grown meat

Products to go first to high-end restaurants

Washington | Reuters — Two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, said on Wednesday they have received final U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to sell lab-grown meat, paving the way for the nation’s first-ever sales of the product. With the approvals, the U.S. will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of […] Read more


CME August 2023 feeder cattle with 30-, 40- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle rally as corn prices sag

Live cattle, lean hogs down

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group feeder cattle contracts rallied on Friday, their second day of gains, as weakening corn prices cut into feed costs and boosted profit margins at packers. Hog futures were weaker on follow-through selling after Thursday’s sharp decline. The August CME feeder cattle contract gained 3.275 cents, to 233.95 cents/lb., rising […] Read more

CME August 2023 live cattle with 10-, 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise, hogs fall

Feeder cattle back in Bollinger range

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures firmed on Thursday, rebounding from a sharp decline a day earlier on support from weakness in the corn market. Live cattle futures also closed higher but hog contracts weakened, extending a sell-off that started on Wednesday as traders said the market remained technically overbought. Analysts […] Read more


CME August 2023 feeder cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2; right scale) and CBOT September 2023 corn (orange line, left scale). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle down as corn extends rally

Hogs end lower off early gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures eased on Wednesday, with surging corn prices expected to boost feeding costs in the coming weeks, traders said. But live cattle contracts were close to unchanged. Hog futures fell from a nine-month high on a round of profit-taking, with the most-active August contract snapping a […] Read more

Olymel’s Drummondville, Que. bacon plant.(Drumco.ca)

Olymel bacon plant deal a ‘signal,’ union says

Deal ends three-week strike at Drummondville

Unionized workers at Olymel’s bacon processing plant at Drummondville, Que. have voted to accept a four-year deal, ending a three-week strike and serving as a “signal” to employers in the region, their union said. Olymel announced Friday that CSN-represented workers at the Bacon Inter-America facility, who’d been on strike since May 26, voted 93.6 per […] Read more