CME December 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures firm on technical buying

Cattle futures close mostly lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed for the second day in a row on Thursday, with technical buying supporting prices following the market’s bounce from a 10-month low on Wednesday, traders said. CME December lean hog futures settled up 1.275 cents at 77.775 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Front-month October hogs



File photo of African jackass penguins at Boulders beach at Cape Town, South Africa. (NeilBradfield/iStock/Getty Images)

More penguins dying of avian flu at Cape Town colony

Visitors urged to disinfect shoes to prevent virus' spread elsewhere

Cape Town | Reuters — More penguins have died from avian flu at the colony at Cape Town’s Boulders beach, a popular tourist attraction and an important breeding site in South Africa, raising concerns for the species and for other seabirds. David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian at the South African Foundation For The Conservation Of



Employees load soybeans for China at Tiplam terminal in Santos, Brazil, in March 2017.

China’s soybean imports from Brazil drop in August

China’s soybean imports from Brazil plunged in August from a year ago, customs data shows, as high prices capped purchases of the oilseed from the South American nation. Imports from smaller suppliers including Uruguay and the United States both increased. China, the world’s biggest soybean buyer, imported 6.25 million tonnes of the oilseed from Brazil

Argentina’s soy sell-off continues, but sales expected to slow

Argentina’s soy sell-off continues, but sales expected to slow

Government actions to spur export sales seem to have worked

Argentine farmers continue to offload soy stockpiles following a series of carrot-and-stick measures aimed at spurring exports. Between Sept. 8 and 14, producers sold 2.3 million tonnes of the 2021-22 harvest, up from 2.1 million tonnes the prior week, per official data. By the end of that week, 61.8 per cent of the 2021-22 harvest


The ministry has said Ukraine could harvest 25 to 27 million tonnes of corn this year.

Ukraine starts 2022 corn harvest

Significant drop in grain production expected in Ukraine amid war

Ukrainian farms have started the 2022 corn harvest, threshing 92,200 tonnes of the commodity from 0.5 per cent of the sown area, the agriculture ministry said Sept. 23. The ministry said the corn yield stood at 4.41 tonnes per hectare. Ukraine could harvest 25 to 27 million tonnes of corn this year versus 42.1 million

Yara to halt Belgian fertilizer unit

Norway’s Yara, one of the world’s largest fertilizer makers, says it will halt output at its Belgian unit as part of a wider European reduction plan linked to soaring gas prices. Fertilizers require large amounts of energy to be produced. The surge in gas prices has prompted several manufacturers, including Yara, to cut production. Yara



Fonterra dairy group hikes 2023 earnings forecast on strong demand

Fonterra dairy group hikes 2023 earnings forecast on strong demand

New Zealand’s Fonterra Co-operative Group has raised its earnings forecast for fiscal 2023, citing strong demand and higher prices for its milk products, and said it expects a further boost if favourable conditions persist. The world’s biggest dairy exporter said it now expects to earn between 45 and 60 New Zealand cents per share in