(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feeder cattle supplies tightening

Market Talk with Jerry Klassen

In my previous article, I mentioned that the USDA made a downward revision to the 2019 calf crop while the 2020 calf crop came in lower than expected. Since then, Statistics Canada has also released their cattle inventory report. It appears that western Canadian calf and yearling supplies as of January 1, 2021, were down […] Read more

Percentage of average precipitation in Western Canada for the 90 days ending April 5, 2021. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada map)

Manitoba forage, grassland growers burned by drought

MarketsFarm — An ongoing lack of precipitation, which is showing no signs of letting up in the coming months according to weather forecasts, is already causing problems for Manitoba’s forage and grasslands. Growers in the province have had to deal with three straight years with lower-than-normal precipitation. In 2019, multiple rural municipalities in Manitoba’s Parkland […] Read more



CME June 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink, red lines) and CME lean hog index (purple line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs strengthen on strong demand, firm exports

Live cattle down despite beef, cash strength

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange climbed higher on Thursday as tight supply and firm export demand offered support, analysts said. “A lot of that has to do with COVID and the pent-up demand we have, with more things opening up,” said Joe Kooima, commodity broker at Kooima […] Read more


CME June 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs gain as swine fever worries open up export markets

Boxed beef values lift live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jumped higher on Wednesday on fears of African swine fever rising across parts of Asia, as well as tight domestic supply as the U.S. rebuilds its hog herd after culling during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts said. The Philippines reduced […] Read more

CME June 2021 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle up with consumer beef demand

Demand, cash prices also support hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange climbed higher on Tuesday, supported by strong consumer beef demand and a firming cash beef market, analysts said. “The demand for protein is strong,” said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting Group. It’s people getting ready for the spring and restaurants opening […] Read more


The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

Klassen: Feeder market digests USDA acreage report

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged. Lower flesh yearlings appeared to trade $2-$3 higher in certain pockets of Alberta but replacements carrying excessive butter experienced severe discounts of $6 to as much as $10 in some cases. October and December live cattle futures made fresh contract highs, which underpinned […] Read more

CME June 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle, lean hogs set new contract highs

June hogs turn lower before close

Chicago | Reuters — Strong meat demand pushed U.S. live cattle and lean hog futures to new contract highs on Monday. The cattle market benefited from increasing demand for beef as the U.S. is entering the summer grilling season, analysts said. Prices for choice cuts of boxed beef soared by $5.82, to $258.67/cwt, while select […] Read more


CME June 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger (20,2) bands and CME lean hog index (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures notch contract highs

Chicago live cattle retreat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Thursday, with several contract months including the benchmark June setting life-of-contract highs on firm cash markets and strong demand for pork, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June lean hogs settled up 1.025 cents at 106.325 cents/lb., after recording a contract high at 106.725 cents (all […] Read more

McMillin: Fed cattle market sees little improvement

McMillin: Fed cattle market sees little improvement

The Markets with Deb McMillin, from the April 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Fed cattle A larger domestic slaughter supply coupled with heavier carcass weights limited seasonal improvement in the fed market. The fed steer average in mid-March was $149.93/cwt, $0.98/cwt lower than the start of the month and down $2.65/cwt when compared to a year ago. Mid-March 2020 was the start of the market disruptions due to […] Read more