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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease with equities

Chicago lean hogs rise

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened with equities on Tuesday, while hog futures advanced. Moves in the cattle market have nearly mirrored those in equities since last week, traders said, with the global spread of the new coronavirus fueling sharp moves. All three major U.S. stock market indexes dropped more […] Read more

By restraining the cow, the substitute calf can nurse without being kicked, stimulating milk let-down.

Tips for grafting a calf

There’s more than one way to encourage cow-calf bonding, but hormones and smell are key

When a cow loses a newborn calf, many stockmen will graft an orphan or twin onto the cow. Sometimes it’s prudent to graft an old cow’s calf onto a younger cow that has lost a calf, so that the old cow can be fattened and sold. But what’s the best way to get a cow […] Read more



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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle rise in recovery from contract lows

Hogs close mixed as China uncertainty looms

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday recovered from contract lows reached last week as concerns temporarily eased about the economic impact from the global coronavirus outbreak. Equity markets also rose on speculation that central banks will cut interest rates to soften the economic blow of the epidemic. “The market […] Read more


Coronavirus impact spreads to cash cattle markets

Coronavirus impact spreads to cash cattle markets

The Markets with Deb McMillin, from the March 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Fed Cattle A downtrend in the technical market in recent weeks resulting from uncertainty surrounding the economic impacts of the coronavirus has spread to the cash market as well. Locally, the cash fed cattle price has fallen $11.00/cwt over the past two weeks. The current fed steer average is $152.54/cwt. Fortunately, the higher prices that […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle dive as coronavirus slams global markets

Technical buying limits hogs' losses

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures extended a steep sell-off on Friday on growing worries that the spread of coronavirus would dent global economic growth and could tip the world economy into recession. Global stocks and oil prices fell sharply as traders fretted over the economic toll of the virus that […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle sink to new lows

COVID-19 continues to spook investors

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended mostly lower on Thursday, with several key contracts notching new contract lows on nagging worries about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on global economic growth and demand for beef. Commodity funds, which had recently built up a sizable net long position in live […] Read more

CME April 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle sink on fund selling

Commodities funds take risk-off stance due to COVID-19

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell sharply in actively traded nearby contracts on Wednesday as concerns about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on demand triggered active selling by commodities funds. Slumping cash market prices further fueled the slide, with the benchmark April contract sinking to its lowest point […] Read more



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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle extend losses

COVID-19 coronavirus continues to rattle investors

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures fell sharply for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as fears of a coronavirus pandemic stoked concerns about demand and slower global economic growth. Commodities funds liquidated more of their sizable long holdings in cattle after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and […] Read more