CME January 2024 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle top one-week high

Traders digest U.S. cattle placements data; December hogs lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. feeder cattle futures and deferred live cattle futures finished higher on Monday after the government reported placements in feedlots were lower than analysts expected last month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in monthly data issued after the close of trading on Friday, said producers placed 3.8 per cent more cattle […] Read more

File photo of cattle on pasture northeast of Calgary. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Report aims to show animal agriculture’s interconnections

CAPI hopes to broaden policymakers' perspective

A new report for the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute seeks to educate policymakers about the impact of animal agriculture on economic, social and environmental levels. The report, titled Forces Impacting Animal Agriculture In Canada: A Synthesis, delves into the issues surrounding cattle, dairy and poultry production in the country and how it is interconnected within […] Read more


CME February 2024 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle rise ahead of bullish data

December lean hogs lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder cattle futures ended higher on Friday as livestock traders adjusted positions in the markets. After the close of trading, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued monthly data that showed producers placed 3.8 per cent more cattle into feedlots in October than a year earlier, […] Read more

Katrina Garneau fills the crowd in on her research at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence field day in June 2023.

Researchers work with pen riders to fine-tune BRD diagnosis

Graduate student hopes to ‘crack the code’ for BRD by combining pen rider experience with new technology

Pen riders are quintessential cowboys of the modern era — riding through groups of cattle, cowboy hats or baseball caps pulled low to block the sun as they note every single animal in the feedlot. Even in the winter, with frost building on the faces of cattle, horses and humans, pen riders are riding the […] Read more



File photo of cattle in an Alberta feedlot. (Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Cash feeder prices soften on futures market uncertainty

Supplies are higher than expected as consumers reign in spending

The live and feeder cattle futures appear to be incorporating a risk discount due to the uncertainty in demand. Consumers are pulling in the reigns on spending. Interest rates are at 40 year highs and inflation remains elevated. Larger supplies and lower demand results in lower prices.


JBS signage at Greeley, Colorado. (JBS.com.br)

Third-quarter profit plunges for JBS

Low U.S. pork prices, beef margins and global chicken glut cited

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s biggest meatpacker, reported an 86 per cent drop in third-quarter net income compared to a year ago on Monday, sliding to around 573 million reais (C$166.3 million). Net income was under the LSEG consensus forecast of 724 million reais, and far below the whopping four billion-real […] Read more

CME February 2024 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle up off last week’s sell-off

Lean hog futures also turn higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder futures advanced on Monday in a rebound from recent declines to multi-month lows. Short-covering helped boost the markets, as losses driven by fund liquidation and technical selling last week were overdone, brokers said. The U.S. beef industry still faces tight supplies of cattle, after […] Read more


CME February 2024 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mixed, feeder cattle firm

Lean hogs up with pork cutout

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures ended the week mixed on Friday, as traders and analysts said technical and algorithmic trading sent contract prices whipsawing during the session. Feeder cattle futures firmed as Chicago corn futures posted a third straight weekly decline, as grain markets continued to react to a […] Read more

CME December 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle sell-off sends nearby contracts plunging

CME hogs mixed in choppy trade

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures fell sharply on Thursday, amid fund liquidation, growing concern over consumer demand and signs of prices falling in the cash market. Traders and funds scrambled to shed some of their long positions, after betting the bull market in cattle futures would continue well into the […] Read more