CME July 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures extend rally on cash prices, tight supply

Cash cattle, beef values see 'significant disconnect'

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures hit contract highs for the third consecutive day on Tuesday as a strong cash market and tight supplies pushed up prices. Solid demand for pork has helped boost the market, with meat processors paying up to buy hogs from producers, analysts said. The U.S. Department […] Read more

(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Workers call strike at Olymel hog plant in Quebec

Producers urged to prioritize heavier hogs when shipping

Talks toward a new contract for unionized employees at meat packer Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have ended in a strike. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN, which represents over 1,000 staff at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City, called an “indefinite” strike effective Wednesday morning, the union […] Read more


(Canest-transit.ca)

Montreal longshore workers escalate strike

Strike to move from part-time to full-time on Monday

Exports of containerized crops and other goods and imports of ag inputs may stall as striking longshore workers at the Port of Montreal get set to level up from part-time to full-time work stoppage. The Syndicat des debardeurs du port de Montreal (CUPE Local 375) said Friday its members, who have been striking on weekends […] Read more

CME June 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown, red lines) and August 2021 feeder cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures sag on technical selling

Wholesale beef prices supportive

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed lower on Wednesday on lacklustre cash markets, soaring feed costs and technical selling, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June live cattle futures settled down 1.95 cents at 117.25 cents/lb., with chart-based selling accelerating as the contract fell below its 100-day moving average near 117.65 cents (all figures […] Read more


CME June 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures extend slide

CME lean hogs rebound

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group live cattle futures fell on Monday, extending their slide to eight straight sessions on long liquidation and signs that surging wholesale beef prices may have reached a seasonal top, analysts said. Feeder cattle futures felt additional pressure from a jump in Chicago Board of Trade corn futures, a sign […] Read more



CME June 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures edge higher after limit down move

CME cattle futures weak

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures firmed slightly on Tuesday after falling their daily trading limit in the previous session. Traders said the market had run out of steam after rallying to their highest since June 2014 last week. “There no doubt remains questions about the belly’s staying power at these levels […] Read more

CME June 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs limit-down off highest in nearly seven years

Follow-through selling drags on live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile exchange lean hog futures dropped sharply on Monday, with numerous contracts closing down the daily three-cent limit on a round of profit-taking after the front-month contract hit its highest since June 2014 last week. “We have had a strong run and we are coming up a little bit short […] Read more


CME June 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs gain as swine fever worries open up export markets

Boxed beef values lift live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jumped higher on Wednesday on fears of African swine fever rising across parts of Asia, as well as tight domestic supply as the U.S. rebuilds its hog herd after culling during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts said. The Philippines reduced […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. pork processors face higher costs, slower speeds after court ruling

Chicago | Reuters — An industry group representing America’s biggest meatpackers on Thursday pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to appeal a federal court decision that canceled an agency rule that allows pork plants to slaughter pigs more quickly. The decision issued Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota could raise costs for meatpackers like […] Read more