CBOT January 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Crop prices slide as pandemic concerns rattle markets

Traders await U.S. export sales data Thursday

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures fell on Wednesday as part of a broad sell-off in markets fueled by concerns about the economic impact of a global surge in COVID-19 cases, traders said. Losses in agricultural futures pulled corn prices back from a 14-month high reached on Tuesday and soybean prices down

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall on declining wholesale pork prices

Steady beef demand lifts cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on weaker wholesale pork prices, while cattle futures advanced on steady beef demand, traders said. The U.S. pork cutout, an indication of wholesale pork prices, fell by $4.31, to $84.52/cwt, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (all figures US$). Prices eased for pork


CBOT December 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures fall after hitting 14-month high

Rains expected to benefit wheat crops; traders watch China to buy more U.S. corn, soy

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower on Tuesday after reaching their highest prices in more than a year on strong U.S. export demand. Soybean futures backpedaled after hitting their highest price since July 2016 on Monday. Wheat also slumped. Profit-taking weighed on corn after prices initially rose on a

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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle hit lowest price since June under supply pressure

December lean hogs close up off recent low

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday, with the most-active contract touching its lowest price since June under pressure from a larger-than-expected number of cattle on feed in the United States, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a monthly report issued after the markets closed on Friday, said 11.7


CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans hit four-year peak on Chinese demand

U.S. winter wheat crop rating misses estimates

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures set their highest price in more than four years on Monday, rising for a sixth consecutive session on strong Chinese demand. Corn futures retreated from a 14-month peak hit on Friday, while wheat futures tumbled as global crop weather improved. Traders are keeping a close eye on China’s

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

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures retreat from 11-month high

Cattle futures down on beef demand uncertainty

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures ended lower on Friday on profit-taking and disappointment over export demand, after prices climbed to the highest level in 11 months. Strong domestic demand for pork continues to underpin hog futures, analysts said, with the most-active December contract surging 39 per cent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange



Family members of longtime JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez, from left, wife Carolina Sanchez, and daughter Estela Hernanez, Beatriz Rangel and Patty Rangel hold a photo of him. He died of COVID-19 in Greeley, Colorado April 10.

INSIGHT: Workers denied benefits for COVID-19 illnesses, deaths

Companies say employees can’t prove illnesses are work-related; workers say plant design all but guarantees transmission

Reuters – Saul Sanchez died in April, one of six workers with fatal COVID-19 infections at meatpacker JBS USA’s slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colorado, the site of one of the earliest and deadliest coronavirus outbreaks at a U.S. meatpacking plant. Before getting sick, the 78-year-old Sanchez only left home to work on the fabrication line, where


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

U.S. livestock: Domestic demand boosts hog futures

Feed grain prices drag on feeder cattle

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures leapt to their highest price since May 2019 on Friday on strong domestic demand for pork, while feeder cattle futures tumbled to a three-month low. Gains in the swine market extend a rally driven by rising cash prices for hogs and demand from consumers. “Domestic demand has been

CBOT November 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybean futures hit 2018 highs as supplies tighten

USDA cuts domestic soy ending stocks; traders expect more demand from China

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures surged to their highest prices since March 2018 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday said inventories will dwindle to a five-year low. Corn futures advanced to a one-year high, while wheat futures slumped in a setback from a five-year high reached on Thursday.