CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle fall to lowest in three weeks

Hogs down off Monday's climb

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to their lowest prices in more than three weeks on Tuesday as boxed beef prices continued to weaken amid expectations for reduced demand, analysts said. Lean hog futures also declined as traders adjusted positions on the last day of the month and ahead of […] Read more

File photo of a steak sandwich with chimichurri sauce at a street food market in Buenos Aires. (Aleksandr_Vorobev/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina extends beef export cap, stoking farm tensions

Move seen as 'giving markets to other countries'

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina extended beef export restrictions until the end of October on Tuesday, stoking tensions with the powerful farm sector as the government seeks to bolster domestic meat supply to help contain rising food prices. The move comes months before key mid-term elections, with centre-left President Alberto Fernandez keen to avoid […] Read more



Farmer or rancher sitting on pickup tailgate, in a field, using a Smart Phone with his cattle in the background. Horizontal image would be good for agriculture use.

Leveraging data in beef production

New mobile app development, networks of smart farms highlight the potential to use data tools in agriculture

A new research project aims to help beef producers better interpret the production data they’re already collecting to make informed management decisions. Currently in its first stages of development, the Arm-Chair Rancher mobile application, a collaboration between Livestock Gentec and David Wishart, professor of biology at the University of Alberta, will analyze data on production […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Stronger live cattle futures lift yearling market

Recent rains rejuvenate Prairie pastures

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were quoted $3 to as much as $6 higher; calf markets once again traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged depending on the region. Unbridled buying interest was noted on larger groups of high-quality yearlings. Despite the grass conditions this summer, cattle characteristics are rated above average […] Read more

CME December 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle follow boxed beef lower

Feeder cattle mostly firmer, hogs lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures sagged on Monday as beef prices fell and brokers worried that U.S. demand for steaks and hamburgers will decline after the upcoming Labour Day holiday weekend. Beef prices have softened after reaching their highest price since May 2020 last week as retailers stocked up for […] Read more


Former federal and provincial community pastures operated for decades in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, many of them on ecologically sensitive lands. These pastures held habitat for wildlife and provided grazing allocations to area farmers. Starting in 2013, the pastures transitioned to patron operation.

Pastures hold on to ecological benefits through transition

Pasture managers and patrons are working with conservation groups to preserve these islands of Prairie habitat

The following is the final in a three-part series exploring how community pastures shifted from government to producer operation. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration’s (PFRA) community pasture program began in the 1930s as a quest to stop drifting soil and provide stable grazing for the […] Read more

(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Olymel, union reach second tentative deal to end strike

Company postpones threatened layoffs pending employees' vote Tuesday

A second agreement in principle has been reached between meat packer Olymel and the union for one of its major Quebec hog slaughter and processing plants to end a months-long strike — this time under threat of layoffs. Olymel and the CSN-affliliated Syndicat des travailleurs de Olymel Vallee-Jonction (STOVJ) announced Sunday afternoon they had reached […] Read more


CME October 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and lean hog cash index (blue line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs rise, narrowing discount to cash market

Technical selling drags on live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed on Friday, led by the nearby October contract, in a technical and bargain-buying rally that narrowed the market’s sizeable discount to the exchange’s lean hog index, traders said. Actively traded October futures scaled to a 3-1/2 week peak and closed near its session high, […] Read more