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

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit up on Tyson comment, short-covering

Cattle futures follow hogs higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures surged their daily three-cent limit on Thursday after comments from a Tyson Foods executive about pork demand from China ignited a wave of buying including short-covering, traders said. Tyson is competing with other global companies to supply meat to China, the world’s largest pork consumer, as an […] Read more

(JBSs.infoinvest.com.br)

Chinese meat packing giant locks in JBS supply

The world’s biggest pork packer is poised to source additional beef, poultry and pork from the world’s biggest meat packing firm. Brazil’s JBS announced Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong-based WH Group for “supply and distribution of fresh beef, poultry and pork to the Chinese market” starting in the first […] Read more



Ham with Black Mission Fig Glaze (see recipe below).

Pork is king around the world

First We Eat: It’s eaten in a wider variety of styles and shapes than any other meat

Pork has influence far beyond the table. Words invoking pork have made their way into everyday life, from football’s autumn pigskin classic at your favourite stadium to pork-barrelling politicians looking for re-election. Of course, electors will be choosing a pig in a poke, and then must make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Even […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Rising protein demand expected in 2020

Canada able to serve both plant- and animal-based protein markets

MarketsFarm — Demand for plant- and animal-based proteins alike is likely to increase in the coming year. Since 2017, pea protein demand increased by about 13 per cent, Craig Klemmer, chief agriculture economist at Farm Credit Canada, said at Ag Days in Brandon, Man. Over the same time period, demand for canola protein increased by […] Read more




Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands after signing “Phase One” of a U.S.-China trade agreement during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

‘Market condition’ caveat on U.S. ag purchases adds to Phase One doubts

Chicago | Reuters — China’s pledge to buy U.S. farm goods based on “market conditions” during the Phase One trade deal signing ceremony on Wednesday added to doubts among farmers and commodity traders over the lingering tariffs on U.S. exports. The agreement, meant to reduce tensions after nearly two years of a tit-for-tat tariff war, […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures rebound

Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed higher on Tuesday, bouncing a day after falling to a one-month low as traders adjusted positions ahead of Wednesday’s planned signing of a U.S.-China trade agreement, brokers said. “The choppy trade continues. There is clearly some nervousness associated with what is […] Read more

A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

VIDO-InterVac joins swine fever fight

The University of Saskatchewan’s vaccine research and development arm is set to become Canada’s first non-government agency to work with the African swine fever virus. Saskatoon-based Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) will start work with the virus this month at its Containment Level 3-Agriculture (CL3-Ag) facility, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said […] Read more