Prices strong despite fewer cattle on offer

Prices strong despite fewer cattle on offer

Short supplies overcame a recent slump in cattle futures

Cattle prices have slipped a little but remain strong, according to Kirk Kiesman of Ashern Auction Mart. He said the number and quality of cattle at auction have both fallen in the last few weeks. “The market was still pretty good overall. The run is definitely getting smaller as most of the cattle in Manitoba

CME August 2023 feeder cattle with 20-day moving average (red line, right column) and CBOT July 2023 corn (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures up ahead of USDA feedlot data

Hog futures mixed; U.S. pork export sales up on week

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Thursday on technical buying and position-squaring ahead of a monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report that is expected to show fewer cattle in U.S. feedlots compared to a year ago, traders said. CME June live cattle settled up 0.7 cent at 165.525


File photo of a storm cloud from the southwestern end of Lake Winnipeg at Matlock, Man. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

More than half of world’s large lakes drying up, study finds

Gains in Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg come from runoff, rainfall

London | Reuters — More than half of the world’s large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. A team of international researchers reported that some of the world’s most important freshwater

China is the largest oilseed importer in the world. So when our market access is blocked, it has implications for Canadian trade.” – Jim Everson, Canola Council of Canada.

Commodity groups cast watchful eye on Canada-China trade

The diplomatic tit-for-tat over Chinese interference hasn’t affected agricultural exports so far

Agricultural exporters are optimistic that a trade war won’t result from the latest Chinese-Canadian diplomatic spat. The current dispute is the result of leaked reports from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, cited by the Globe and Mail. The reports indicated that Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Chong had been targeted by China for criticizing its


Tyson’s costs to buy live cattle increased $305 million from last year.

Tyson Foods shares plunge

Deflated demand, inflated costs lead to surprise loss

Tyson Foods Inc. shares plunged 16 per cent to a three-year low May 8 as the U.S. meatpacker posted a surprise second-quarter loss and cut its full-year revenue forecast amid slowing consumer demand. The weaker than expected results indicate cash-strapped shoppers are cutting back on meat spending in a high-inflation environment, while a shrinking cattle herd forces Tyson to pay more for

Smoke from active wildfires in Alberta’s north and west hangs over Calgary on May 16, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Hennel)

No respite expected for wildfire-hit Alberta

Forecasts call for fire conditions to worsen

Ottawa | Reuters — Abnormally hot and dry weather is set to return to Alberta on Thursday after a couple of cooler days helped calm wildfires that have forced thousands of evacuations in the province. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in Western Canada this year.


The Verkhovna Rada building, home to Ukraine’s parliament, in Kiev. (Cia.gov)

Ukraine lifts barriers to exports of some farm goods

Export licenses were in place to maintain domestic supplies

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine has removed barriers to the export of some agricultural commodities, imposed last year to prevent food shortages, in a bid to boost foreign currency income, its government said on Tuesday. The country introduced export licences in 2022 to protect food supplies after agricultural production was hit by Russia’s invasion. While

CME June 2023 lean hogs with 20- and 50-day moving averages and CME cash lean hog index (blue line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs pressured by cheap cash prices, softer pork prices

Nearby live cattle higher, feeder cattle down

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures declined on Wednesday, snapping a three-session advance, pressured by a discounted cash hog market and declining wholesale pork prices, traders said. CME June lean hog futures settled down 2.325 cents at 84.875 cents/lb. and the July contract fell 2.575 cents to end at 85.55 cents



Figure 1: Seeding progression in 2023 compared to previous years.

Seeding progress behind five-year average, soybean, canola seen lagging

Manitoba Crop Report: Issue 1 (week 20)

Weekly Provincial Summary  Precipitation was variable across agro–Manitoba from May 8 to 14 with values ranging from 0 to 48.9 mm. Mid-week rains brought the highest observed precipitation to the Northwest and Southwest regions. Climate normals for total accumulated precipitation from May 1 to May 14 range from 13.1 to 29.2 mm and are based