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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures rise on new-month buying

Hogs mostly down on concerns over supplies, demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Wednesday on what appeared to be technical and speculative buying at the start of a new month and quarter, analysts said. Yet the benchmark August live cattle contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange remained rangebound, with rallies capped by weak beef prices as slaughterhouses […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures drift lower as corn prices soar

Wholesale beef prices show signs of stabilizing

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed modestly lower on Tuesday, pressured by a surge in Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures that is likely to squeeze profit margins for livestock producers, traders said. “The rise in feed costs changes the dynamics in the industry. It cuts into profits — or in the […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end lower ahead of weekend

CME lean hogs mostly up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures retreated on Friday in a profit-taking and technical selling setback ahead of the weekend amid weakening beef prices and concerns about lower-than-normal summer demand as much of the economy remains partially closed. Lean hog futures clawed back earlier losses to end mostly higher as an early drop […] Read more

Cattle producers facing a pandemic market

Options include being prepared to background steers, keep replacement heifers

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve received many calls in regards to the market situation for fed and feeder cattle. The conversation usually starts with “What should I do?” This is a very difficult environment, to say the least. The shuttering of one major Alberta beef plant (as of late April) and reduced slaughter […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle end mostly lower as beef prices ease

June hogs up, August lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed mostly lower on Thursday as wholesale beef prices began to retreat from historic highs as the U.S. slaughter pace improved, generating more meat supplies, analysts said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled down 1.425 cents at 97 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Front-month June […] Read more

CME June 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures dip after belly prices dive

Cattle down on ideas of beef prices peaking

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on technical selling and signs that wholesale pork prices may have peaked after a massive run-up due to closings at meat-packing plants as COVID-19 sickened workers, traders said. The U.S. pork cutout value fell on Tuesday afternoon by nearly $9/cwt, to $112.82, with pork […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: June live cattle limit up on soaring beef prices

Large supplies of hogs, cattle still loom over futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday, with nearby contracts rising the daily maximum, as surging wholesale beef prices and expectations U.S. beef and pork production would drop spurred speculative buying, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June live cattle futures settled up 4.5 cents, the expanded daily limit, at […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cash cattle, futures up on beef packer scrutiny

Profit-taking continues to drag on lean hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose on Friday along with cash prices as the federal government probed the beef market. The price of cattle in the cash market has rebounded since U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had urged the federal Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking […] 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

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