(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf to buy four Saskatchewan hog barns

Pork processor plans future upgrades

Two sow barns and two nursery hog barns in central Saskatchewan are set to become the property of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday it plans to buy the four barns from Polar Pork, a group of farms spearheaded by members of the Possberg family — well known as the founding […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures ease on China demand worries

CME August live cattle down

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures weakened in the two most-active contract months on Friday as traders continued to dial in expectations for waning Chinese demand, analysts said. China, the world’s biggest pork consumer, has sought to rebuild its hog herd after it was decimated by an outbreak of the deadly pig […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Hogs drop as domestic, export demand seen weak

CME August cattle futures up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell sharply on Thursday as traders priced in expectations for waning demand after the U.S. Independence Day holiday this weekend. Signs of poor demand from China, which has been a big buyer of U.S. pork since an outbreak of African swine fever decimated production in the […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs retreat from one-week high

CME August live cattle up, feeders lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended lower on Wednesday in a retreat from early gains in which the most-active contract topped a one-week high. Traders watched a rally in grain prices that makes it more expensive to feed livestock. Corn and soy futures soared at the Chicago Board of Trade […] Read more


CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink and brown lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures touch one-week high

CME August live cattle up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures touched a one-week high on Tuesday in a rebound from recent losses, while live cattle futures were mixed. The hog market is recovering after dropping last week to a nine-week low, traders said. Hopes for improved export demand helped support prices, traders said. CME August […] Read more

CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rally as China buys pork

Cattle futures, beef cutout values lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose three per cent on Monday, supported by rising demand as China moved to buy pork for its reserves to shore up the domestic market, traders said. China’s state planner said on Monday that central and local governments will start buying pork for state reserves to […] Read more


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on June 25, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Parliament rises as farm succession bill passes

Manitoba MP's private member's bill clears Senate

With the possibility of a fall election looming, MPs rose from the House of Commons on Wednesday, marking the end to a parliamentary session featuring a handful of laws impacting agriculture. Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire saw his private member’s bill, aimed at lowering taxes on the sales of farms and other small businesses, pass in […] Read more

CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures firm on technical buying

Cattle futures up ahead of USDA placements report

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures firmed on Friday, supported by technical buying after sagging to their lowest in nearly three months on Thursday, traders said. CME August hog futures, the most actively traded contract, ended up 1.075 cents at 99.775 cents (all figures US$). The wholesale U.S. pork carcass cutout price […] Read more


CME July 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink and brown lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: July hogs limit-down to lowest since late March

August live cattle down, feeders up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures tumbled to their lowest in nearly three months on Thursday with rising supplies pressuring the market, traders said. CME July hogs settled down the 4.5-cent daily trading limit at 100.025 cents/lb. (all figures US$). That was the lowest for the front-month contract since March 29. Actively […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall as cash pork prices slide

Cattle futures, beef cutout values lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell sharply on Wednesday, with the front-month Chicago Mercantile Exchange contract sinking 2.8 per cent to its lowest in more than two months. Weakness in the cash market pressured hog futures, traders said. CME July hogs settled down three cents at 104.525 cents/lb., its lowest since April […] Read more