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

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs end firm on light recovery bounce

Ramped-up slaughter pace keeps lid on rallies

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed modestly higher on Monday, shaking off early declines and firming on technical buying ahead the end of the month and quarter, after a three-session slide last week, traders said. A firmer close in Wall Street equity markets lent support as optimism about the U.S. economy could


CME August 2020 lean hogs with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs tumble on bigger-than-expected supply, economic concerns

Rising COVID-19 counts raise fears for beef demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures plunged by as much as the daily trading limit on Friday and ended sharply lower after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated supplies above already-high trade expectations. Economic concerns amid rising novel coronavirus infections added pressure to hogs and also dragged down cattle futures, which finished

The last few cattle are still headed to pasture as the market takes its annual break.

Culls dominate Manitoba cattle markets

Most facilities are already on summer schedule

Cull cows accounted for most of the cattle moving through the Manitoba cattle auction yards in mid-June, with facilities already closed for the summer or operating at a reduced schedule. “We’re seeing large volumes of cows come into the market in Manitoba,” said Rick Wright of Heartland Order Buying, adding that prices were relatively steady


Cattle try to avoid heat stress by 
standing in a slough.

Watch for heat stress, summer pneumonia in beef cattle

The combination of heat and humidity can create stress on livestock

Summers usually are mild on the Great Plains, compared with other regions, but hot, humid days do occur and can be dangerous and even deadly for cattle. “The combination of heat and humidity creates stress on livestock because respiration is the predominant route for cooling,” says Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock systems specialist at North Dakota



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures down on big supplies, economic jitters

Surge in U.S. COVID-19 cases rattles Wall Street

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures eased on Wednesday and hog futures were mostly lower on ample livestock supplies and concerns about rising coronavirus infections and their negative impact on the economy. Wall Street’s three major indexes tumbled on Wednesday and crude oil plunged more than five per cent as a surge in U.S.

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

U.S. livestock: Futures rise as frozen meat stocks decline

Exporters drew down stored supplies during packer slowdowns

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures firmed on Tuesday following two sessions of declines after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed a larger-than-anticipated decline in cold-storage stocks of pork and beef. The USDA stocks report, released after the close on Monday, showed a record-large drop in U.S. frozen pork inventories in


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder cattle market grinds lower

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $4 lower on average. Small packages were available and buyers were picking away with subdued interest. There were some “green” strings of yearlings in Alberta and Saskatchewan which were well bid; however, most cattle were characterized by medium to smaller frames. Some of

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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop as China tightens food import restrictions

USDA report bearish on cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures retreated on Monday, with actively traded nearby contracts sinking more than three per cent and hitting life-of-contract lows amid worries about pork exports to China, which has stepped up oversight of imported goods due to COVID-19. China’s customs authority said on Sunday it had suspended poultry imports