Photo: File

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on technical buying, economic news

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose and feeder cattle touched a two-month high on Friday on technical trading, with stronger-than-expected September jobs data indicating good consumer demand, analysts said. Hog futures touched their highest level in four months before retreating. Benchmark CME December live cattle futures LCZ24 settled up 0.600 cent at […] Read more

Look for a slow rebuild of the U.S. cattle herd

Look for a slow rebuild of the U.S. cattle herd

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

The U.S. beef cattle industry is smaller than needed and signals for rebuilding will continue in the coming months. But herd rebuilding is likely to be slow to start and proceed quite slowly initially. So says Oklahoma State University’s Derrell Peel in his latest analysis of the prospects for herd expansion. Meanwhile, a CoBank report […] Read more





(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Western Canadian calf markets percolate higher

Strength in the deferred live cattle futures has spilt over into the feeder complex. Alberta and Saskatchewan placements in the lighter weight categories are down from year-ago levels which is resulting in stronger Alberta fed cattle basis levels for next spring.  These are the main factors influencing the calf markets in Western Canada.