(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market enters summer doldrums

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded steady to $5 lower on average. Small volumes were available last week, which distorted the price structure. Many feedlot hands will rotate holidays through July; therefore, feedlot operators don’t want to bring in fresh replacements with a skeleton staff. Recent rains across Saskatchewan and Alberta […] Read more

CME August 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs up on trade hopes, falling corn prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures rose on Monday on a mix of technical buying, falling corn prices and muted optimism about the weekend resumption of U.S.-China trade negotiations, traders said. “Lean hog futures (received) support from hopes of more Chinese buying after weekend talks went well,” INTL FCStone chief […] Read more


CME July 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Nearby lean hogs drop on continued herd expansion

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures were mixed on Friday, with nearby contracts pressured by plentiful supplies of hogs and pork and deferred months buoyed by signs of a slowing multi-year U.S. hog herd expansion, traders said. Actively traded nearby contracts posted steep declines after the U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more










CME October 2019 live cattle, with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle closed mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed mixed on Tuesday, with expectations for a weak cash trade pressuring the benchmark August contract while back months ended firm, traders said. Packers were not bidding aggressively for cattle, a factor that some traders took as a bearish signal. “The bids that were out […] Read more