The new owner of an antibiotic-free poultry processing plant in the Centre-du-Quebec region is set to shut the plant next week after a “thorough review” of its condition. Volaille Giannone announced Friday it will close the former Avicomax plant at Drummondville effective Nov. 6, after having bought it from Maple Leaf Foods in July for […] Read more

Quebec poultry packer to shut ex-Maple Leaf plant
Giannone to close Drummondville facility

U.S. livestock: Live cattle edge higher in subdued trade
Chicago hogs end mixed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Friday for a fourth straight session, supported by follow-through technical buying after Thursday’s strong close and brisk demand for beef, analysts said. But trading volume was thin as brokers waited for significant cash cattle trade to emerge. Fat cattle traded lightly in the southern […] Read more

Funds’ long position up in canola ahead of selloff
MarketsFarm — Fund traders continued to add to their large long positions in canola during the week ended Tuesday, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Managed money fund traders, as of Tuesday, were holding a net long position in ICE Futures canola of 61,936 […] Read more

JBS to seek damages from founders
Brazil shareholder vote a win for Brazil's BNDES
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Shareholders in JBS SA on Friday cleared the way for the Brazilian food processor to sue its own controlling stakeholders and certain former managers, a rare victory for shareholder activism in Latin America’s largest economy. The vote was a win for JBS’s top minority shareholder, national development bank BNDES, which […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat slides on profit-taking, weather
January soybeans up, December corn flat
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures fell on Friday for a fifth straight session, retreating from multi-year highs set last week, on fund-driven long liquidation and improving crop prospects in the southern U.S. Plains, analysts said. Soybean futures firmed on export demand while corn settled narrowly mixed, with the front December contract losing relative […] Read more

Pulse industry watching container supply closely
One major container firm is shipping them back to Asia empty to meet a surge in demand
Pulse Canada is keeping an eye on container supplies following the recent announcement by a major supplier it would be shipping them back empty to Asia from North America to meet a surge in demand. Why it matters: Canadian pulse crop exporters rely on shipping containers to get their products to international customers. A lack […] Read more

ADM beats profit estimates but revenue disappoints
Reuters — Global grains trader Archer Daniels Midland beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profits on Thursday, helped by strength in its grain milling and nutrition businesses. Still, revenue missed analysts’ expectations and net earnings attributable to the company were 44 per cent lower than a year earlier. Shares were down nearly three per cent […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures jump on tightening supplies
Lower wholesale pork values drag on hogs
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday on expectations that tight cattle supplies and rising demand for beef will buoy cash cattle markets, analysts said. Cash cattle traded lightly in the southern Plains this week at $106/cwt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported, even with last week (all figures US$). […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat hit two-week lows on COVID-19 fears
Commodity selling continues dragging on grains, analysts say
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures extended losses on Thursday, with corn and wheat hitting two-week lows as concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact weighed on prices. Improving global crop weather added pressure on prices, with rains benefiting dry wheat-growing areas in the U.S. and Russia and soybean-producing regions of Brazil, traders said. […] Read more

U.S. lifts federal protections for gray wolf
Reuters — The Trump administration in the U.S. said Thursday said it will lift Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf, arguing the species had been brought back successfully from the brink of extinction. The move gives states in the continuous United States the authority to manage their local wolf populations, including by allowing […] Read more