(Zevei-Wenhui/iStock/Getty Images)

Swine fever found in Germany putting pork exports at risk

Country had been fencing off borders against wild boar

Berlin/Hamburg | Reuters — Germany confirmed on Thursday that African swine fever (ASF) had been found in a dead wild boar near its border with Poland, threatening pork exports to China from Europe’s biggest pork producer, which were worth US$1.2 billion last year. Authorities in the German state of Brandenburg quarantined a 15-km area around


CME October 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise as cash values firm

Live cattle follow cash cattle, beef prices lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Wednesday, reaching a four-month high on firming cash hog prices, optimism about pork demand and technical buying, analysts said. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange October lean hog futures contract settled above its 200-day moving average, rising 1.475 cents to end at 61.375 cents/lb. after reaching 61.725

File photo of domestic hogs on a German farm.

Germany reports first suspected case of African swine fever

German producers currently exporting pork to China

Berlin | Reuters — Germany’s ministry of food and agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for


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

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on expectations of firm cash values

Hog market appears technically overbought

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Tuesday on expectations of firmer cash prices as supplies of market-ready cattle tighten, following a drop this past spring in the number of cattle placed in feedlots, traders said. “Packer margins are huge; they are still over $350 a head.

The union representing workers at Brandon’s Maple Leaf Foods plant continues to call for it to be temporarily closed due to staff COVID-19 cases.

Workers say Maple Leaf, province overlooking safety hazards

Workers tell the Co-operator of crowded bathrooms, locker rooms, stairways, cafeterias without handwashing facilities, forced overtime

Workers at Brandon’s Maple Leaf Foods plant say the company isn’t doing enough to keep them safe, and that they’re scared to come to work. “We workers are crying for help,” they wrote in an open letter circulated by Migrante Manitoba, an advocacy organization for migrant workers in late August. “It’s clear to us that


CME October 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit four-month high on export hopes

Post-Labour Day beef demand in doubt

Chicago | Reuters — Strong export demand for U.S. pork pushed Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures to a four-month high on Friday. Traders are optimistic China, the world’s biggest pork consumer, will remain a strong buyer, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported strong weekly export sales on Thursday. Chinese importers have been bringing



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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle touch late-July lows on demand jitters

U.S. pork export data due out Thursday

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday dropped to their lowest prices since July amid uncertainty about how much U.S. demand will decline as the summer grilling season draws to a close. Beef and cattle prices are often weak this time of year as demand weakens. This year, closures of

CME October 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle consolidate up off one-month low

CME hogs up as trade watches China

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Tuesday rose for a second consecutive session as the market consolidated after touching a one-month low on Monday, brokers said. Weakness in the cash market for U.S. cattle has hung over futures prices recently, but some traders said they hope the markets will not