CME August 2021 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle firm on tighter supplies

October hogs down on supply expectations

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures climbed on Monday, as supplies tightened in the northern U.S. Plains, traders said. “You’ve got a lot of empty yards,” said Scott Varilek, broker at Kooima Kooima Varilek Trading Inc. “We don’t have a lot of large supplies, large runs. You’re going to have to […] Read more


CME October 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Firm cash markets lift hog futures

Cattle futures extend slide

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed higher on Friday as firm U.S. cash markets and rising pork prices underscored tight hog supplies, analysts said. News of the first confirmed cases of African swine fever in farmed pigs in Germany added support, raising uncertainty about pork export flows. However, exports of […] Read more



CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and October 2021 live cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle drift lower

Lean hog futures end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures drifted lower on Thursday in lacklustre trade, with disappointing weekly export sales data and softening wholesale beef cutout prices adding pressure, analysts said. “The fact that the cutout on beef has been drifting lower just doesn’t give the market a lot of confidence that packers […] Read more

History: William Melnyk’s Story

Reprinted from the June 1953 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

William Melnyk’s StoryBy Grant MacEwan ‘When the judging was completed at the big Edmonton Spring Show last month, no name among the scores of livestock exhibitors was more conspicuous than that of Melnyk. One Melnyk entry won the grand championship in Shorthorn bulls; a Melnyk calf was champion in the baby beef section and reserve […] Read more


CME August 2021 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle fall on corn rally

CME lean hogs end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower Wednesday, led by weakness in feeder cattle futures and profit-taking after a near two-week high, traders said. CME feeder futures set the tone, falling one per cent as corn futures jumped on worries about dry U.S. weather, a move that signaled higher costs […] Read more

Farmer and Grainews columnist Toban Dyck inspects wheat on July 6, 2021 near Winkler, Man., where hot and dry weather has led to thin, uneven stands. (Photo: Reuters/Rod Nickel)

Saskatchewan raises salvage threshold for parched crops

Stock watering program also boosted; APAS, Tories' ag critic had called for more drought aid

Saskatchewan’s provincial crop insurance agency is raising the yield threshold at which drought-damaged crops can be grazed, baled for greenfeed or cut for silage with no penalty on future coverage. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. said Wednesday it would double the “low yield appraisal” threshold values on cereal or pulse crop acres put to feed. SCIC […] Read more


CME August 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle firm on cash market optimism

CME lean hogs also advance

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday for a second session, supported by expectations for a slowdown in supplies of market-ready cattle that should lift cash prices, analysts said. “The (cattle) numbers start to tighten as we move forward and get closer to August. That is giving some […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan ranchers backed for runoff control

Funding on offer for earth-moving work

Cow-calf producers in Saskatchewan may be able to get cost-shared funds from the federal/provincial Farm Stewardship Program to build ponds, ditches, dikes or berms to collect or manage runoff. The province and federal government on Tuesday announced such work now qualifies as a beneficial management practice (BMP) covered under the program. Eligible beef cow-calf producers […] Read more