CME July 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs climb, demand uncertainty remains

Chicago cattle futures lower

Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures firmed for a second session on Thursday, supported by bargain buying, though demand concerns capped gains, analysts said. “We’ve got conflicting fundamentals. Seasonally, hog supplies should continue to tighten into mid-summer. But right now there’s a lot of demand worry,” said Doug Houghton, technical analyst at Brock […] Read more

Reg Schellenberg.

A leg up for young cattle producers

CCA’s new president discusses his priorities, including investing in the beef industry’s next generation, improving market access and risk management, plus protecting Canada’s herd from foot-and-mouth disease

Reg Schellenberg knows what it’s like to be a young rancher, just starting out with the odds stacked against his family. In the early 1980s, Schellenberg and his wife Shannon had become partners in her parents’ cow-calf operation, Perrin Ranching, south of Beechy, Sask. He was always interested in cattle and horses, and he worked […] Read more


CME June 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease

Cash prices maintain against lower futures

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group live cattle futures eased on Wednesday, pressured as processors pull market-ready cattle forward heading into the late spring, analysts said. June live cattle futures are discounted versus the cash market, creating an incentive to sell before cash falls. “We’re going to start narrowing up cash and the June board,” […] Read more

An Angus bull wearing a rope halter at a cattle show.

The essentials to achieving anything worthwhile

Veterinary Case Study: The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are hard work, stick-to-it-iveness and common sense

It turned out to be Don’s first day of work. Third-year exams at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine had sapped most of his academic capacity. Now he searched for hard-core field experience and the savvy that comes with being a step closer to being a real veterinarian. I looked forward to someone to relieve […] Read more


CME July 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages (pink, brown, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop to January lows

Lower grain values continue to lift cattle

Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures on Tuesday dropped to their lowest prices since January on technical selling and concerns about risks to demand for U.S. meat, brokers said. U.S. pork exports to China have tumbled this year as Chinese producers rebuild their herds after outbreaks of the pig disease African swine fever. […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feedlot demand up prior to seasonal rally

Market for calves 'boiling hot' in Manitoba

For the week ending April 30, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Yearlings traded $8 lower as much as $5 higher. Severe discounts were noted on fleshier cattle; some auction barns reported the bulk of cattle over 800 pounds were medium to heavier flesh. Deferred live cattle futures were under pressure but the […] Read more


CME August 2022 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle futures firm on weaker corn

China's COVID lockdowns pressure CME hogs

Chicago | Reuters — CME live and feeder cattle futures firmed on Monday, supported by lower corn futures, an input cost to feeder cattle, analysts said. “The big driver there was just lower corn,” said Josh Steinhilber, broker at Cattlehedgers.com. “We got spillover into the live cattle.” CME August feeder cattle added 5.8 cents, to […] Read more



CME June 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 100-day moving average (brown line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall to lowest since early February

CME cattle also weak

Chicago | Reuters — CME hog futures dropped to their lowest in nearly three months on Friday, pressured by concerns about consumer demand as summer grilling season nears, traders said. Cattle futures also fell. Some end-of-month fund liquidation likely added to the weakness in livestock contracts, traders said. “There is not a whole lot of […] Read more

CME June 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures up off three days of losses

Chicago live cattle down, feeder cattle firm

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures rose on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak that pushed prices to their lowest since March 7 on some mild bargain buying, traders said. But the gains were kept in check by concerns that the growth of the Chinese herd could slow buying demand from the world’s […] Read more