An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Mexico to stop sending workers to Canadian farms hit by COVID-19

Assurances of worker safety sought, FARMS says

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico will stop sending temporary workers to Canadian farms that have registered a coronavirus outbreak and that do not have proper worker protections, Mexico’s labour ministry said on Tuesday, although it will not completely suspend the program. The decision came after a coronavirus outbreak in Ontario hit at least 17 […] Read more



File photo of Smithfield Foods’ pork plant at Sioux Falls, S.D. on April 16, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

U.S. meatpacking workers often absent after plants ordered to reopen

"There's still so many risks"

Chicago/Washington | Reuters — Smithfield Foods is missing about a third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak, according to the workers’ union. Tyson Foods was forced to briefly close its Storm Lake, Iowa plant — a month […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 soybeans with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans fall on crop development

Wheat lifts on short-covering

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures slid on Monday on reports of healthy crop development across much of the U.S. Midwest, as concerns about a potential bumper crop cooled market enthusiasm over recent strong Chinese demand. Private exporters reported the sale of 390,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery in the 2020-21 marketing […] Read more


CME August 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures up as meat production grows

Live cattle up off last week's lows

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose on Monday, after plunging to their lowest price in more than a month last week, amid signs of meat production increasing — even as cash market prices continue to strain livestock producers’ profits. Chicago Mercantile Exchange August live cattle rose 0.675 cents, to 96 cents (all […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures touch one-month low

Improving production pressures hog futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures dropped to their lowest price in more than a month on Friday, weighed down by expectations for increasing meat production. Beef output has improved as slaughterhouses have resumed operations after closing temporarily in April and May due to outbreaks of the new coronavirus among plant workers. The […] Read more


(CMEGroup.com)

Coronavirus threatens Chicago’s last remaining trading pits

Grain options pits remain closed, for now

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago brokers and traders worry COVID-19 will kill more of the city’s once famous shout-and-gesture trading pits. CME Group, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade, said this week that most of the pits it closed in March because of the pandemic will remain shuttered indefinitely. The news disappointed some brokers […] Read more

CME August 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs weaken on expectations for abundant supplies

Cattle futures seen as rangebound

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on expectations for abundant pork supplies as meat processors work their way through pigs that backed up on farms when slaughterhouses shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traders expect meat packers to start eating into the backlog of hogs within the next two weeks […] Read more



CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle stabilize, beef prices fall further

Technical buying supports CME lean hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures stabilized on Monday after falling last week as beef prices weakened, traders said. The market is expected to remain under pressure as beef production continues to recover from disruptions in April and May linked to coronavirus outbreaks among workers at meatpacking plants. Meat processors slaughtered an estimated […] Read more