(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs continue gains for second day

Chicago | Reuters — Livestock futures traders continued to hunt for cover on their short positions Thursday, resulting in Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures climbing a second day after prices slid to contract lows earlier this week. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw live cattle and feeder cattle futures on Wednesday bounce back strongly from contract […] Read more

(Harrisvaccines.com)

Merck to buy Harrisvaccines to boost livestock portfolio

Chicago | Reuters — Merck and Co.’s animal health unit will buy privately-held Harrisvaccines to expand its portfolio of animal vaccines as the U.S. livestock industry seeks new defenses against diseases, the companies said on Thursday. Financial details were not disclosed. The deal, which is expected to close by year-end, follows rival Zoetis’ agreement, announced […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs surge on bargain-buying after selloff

Chicago | Reuters — The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw live cattle and feeder cattle futures bounce back strongly from contract lows on Wednesday, with prices hitting their daily limits as traders snapped up bargains and investors covering their short positions. Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures also saw a turnaround as traders bet that contract lows, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Technical trading, holiday fears sour hog, cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters –– The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw all of its live cattle and all but two feeder cattle futures contracts fall by the daily trading limit on Monday, pressured by technical selling and weakening wholesale beef prices, traders and industry analysts said. Meanwhile, CME lean hog contracts continued their slump on Monday, dropping […] Read more



U.S. grains: Wheat futures up despite U.S. rain, corn down amid big crop forecast

Chicago/Reuters –  Chicago wheat futures ticked up on Wednesday on technical buying, despite rain forecasts across U.S. grain belts adding to worries about weather woes overseas. Corn futures ended the day slightly lower after private forecasters raised their estimates for U.S. production, while soybeans rose on bargain-buying and robust U.S. exports. Chicago Board of Trade […] Read more


A John Deere air cart seeding system in the field.  Photo: John Deere

Deere & Co. to buy Monsanto’s Precision Planting farm equipment business

Chicago/Reuters – Monsanto Co’s Climate Corp subsidiary on Tuesday announced a definitive agreement to sell its Precision Planting farm equipment business to Deere & Co for an undisclosed sum. The deal also allows nearly real-time data connections between certain John Deere farm equipment and Climate’s farming software programs, Climate FieldView. Climate will keep its digital farming […] Read more



U.S. grains: Wheat, corn close firm on technical buying; soybeans slip

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn close firm on technical buying; soybeans slip

CHICAGO / Reuters – U.S. wheat futures rallied nearly 2 per cent on Thursday, supported by a round of short-covering and signs of improving export demand, traders said. A pickup in exports also boosted corn futures, as technical buying lent further support to both corn and wheat after prices dipped during the overnight trading session. […] Read more