(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: Weaker cash, pork prices drop CME hogs

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures on Friday were pressured by lower cash and wholesale pork prices, said traders. They said February futures lost technical support while other contracts triggered sell stops after drifting below Thursday’s lows. February hogs closed down 0.225 cent/lb. to 73.175 cents, below the 20-day moving average […] Read more



Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Jan. 31. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Nina seen likely to fade by spring

Reuters — The current La Nina weather cycle is likely to transition into more neutral conditions by spring, a U.S. government weather forecaster said Thursday. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and is linked with floods and droughts. It is the opposite phase of what is known […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle end mostly weaker

Chicago | Reuters — Most Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts on Thursday posted modest losses after a volatile session, as investors waited for cattle in the U.S. Plains to change hands, traders said. February futures drew support from wintry weather across the western Corn Belt that threatens to disrupt livestock production. February live cattle […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

German coalition deal sets no timetable to end glyphosate use

Hamburg | Reuters –– Germany’s draft coalition government deal includes a goal of ending use of glyphosate herbicide within the country, but gives no time frame, after Berlin swung a vote in November extending its use across the European Union. The timing of an end to glyphosate use has been highly controversial in Europe amid […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: Funds, supply worries extend CME hogs’ losses

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Wednesday finished lower for a second straight day following another round of fund liquidation, along with increased supply expectations, traders said. February, which will expire on Feb. 14, was pressured by lower market-ready, or cash, hog prices as packers try to stabilize their slipping margins. […] Read more



(British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

Alberta halts B.C. wine purchases in pipeline feud

Reuters — Alberta struck back at neighbouring British Columbia on Tuesday, halting purchases of that province’s wines in retaliation for its potentially holding up expansion of a crude pipeline. B.C. proposed rules last week to temporarily block increased oil shipments through the province, adding another hurdle to Kinder Morgan Canada’s planned $7.4 billion Trans Mountain […] Read more


(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs slump on technical selloff

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs closed lower on Tuesday in the wake of technical selling that largely overshadowed bullish market fundamentals, said traders. U.S. stock market volatility, after their worst ever daily point loss on Monday, kept CME livestock market traders on the defensive. Some funds that bailed out of stocks […] Read more

(Staff photo)

Nutrien sees demand growth cooling, margins shrinking

Reuters — Nutrien, the Canadian fertilizer and farm supply dealer created from the merger of Agrium and PotashCorp this year, said it expected demand growth for potash in China and India to cool down in 2018. Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, also said higher input costs would shrink nitrogen and phosphate margins. […] Read more