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

U.S. livestock: Cattle limit up on beef demand, strong packer margins

Cash hog prices up, pork cutout down

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures settled up their expanded daily limit on Tuesday as traders continued to react to soaring profit margins for beef packers that should lift prices in the cash cattle market this week. Retail demand for meat has surged as fears of the COVID-19 coronavirus prompt consumers to stock […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

As meat demand rises, processors raise pay for farmers, workers

Chicago | Reuters –– North American meat processors said on Monday they would pay extra money to farmers and slaughterhouse workers as the companies scramble to meet surging demand from consumers unnerved by the spread of the new coronavirus. Companies such as Tyson Foods and Cargill want to ensure their slaughterhouses remain supplied with cattle […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Meat packing sector needs federal inspectors

Shared staff, recalling recent retirees among options on table

The federal government is working on ways it can maintain inspection staffing levels at federally-licensed meat packing plants. Speaking to media Saturday in Ottawa, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau addressed concerns surrounding the ability of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to continue meat inspection work. The Reuters news service on Monday quoted two unnamed sources […] Read more



(TysonFoods.com)

U.S. under pressure to keep slaughterhouses open

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to reassure meat producers it will keep slaughterhouses staffed with federal inspectors as fears about potential shutdowns due to the COVID-19 coronavirus hammer livestock prices and fuel concerns about food supplies, meat industry groups said on Monday. Livestock markets have been hit hard as […] Read more







CME February 2019 live cattle with 20-day moving average. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle hit six-week high on technical buying

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose sharply for the second straight session on Wednesday, reaching a six-week high, on technical buying and expectations that beef packers would pay higher prices for cattle this week, traders said. Cattle futures had declined earlier on Tuesday before turning higher and then surpassing the previous session’s […] Read more