Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs extended losses for a seventh consecutive session Friday on downward-trending cash and wholesale pork prices, traders said. April closed 0.2 cent per pound weaker at 62.1 cents, and May 0.825 cent lower at 71.425 cents (all figures US$). Friday morning’s average market-ready or cash hog price […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures end weaker, but off lows
Washington’s governor declares drought emergency
San Francisco | Reuters –– Washington state Governor Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency across three regions including key agricultural hubs of the U.S. Northwest state on Friday, citing near-record-low snowpack levels ahead of the spring runoff. Watersheds on the Olympic Peninsula, east side of the central Cascade Mountains including Yakima and Wenatchee, and Walla […] Read more
Brazilian beef exporters weigh WTO case against EU
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazilian meat exporters are considering taking the European Union to the World Trade Organization to challenge restrictions on their beef shipments to one of the world’s top markets, the head of the country’s beef exporters association told Reuters. A new dispute could further harm trade ties frayed by an EU case […] Read more
State of Prairie winter wheat still unknown
CNS Canada — Snow cover is rapidly disappearing across Western Canada, but it will still be a few weeks until the extent of any damage to winter wheat across the Prairies is fully known. “It’s still wait-and-see,” said analyst Bruce Burnett of Winnipeg grain firm CWB. The crop won’t start re-growing until the overnight temperatures […] Read more
Decisions on new-crop canola acres still pending
CNS Canada — With the 2015-16 growing season fast approaching in Western Canada, decisions on how many acres will be seeded to canola remain up in the air. “I think a lot of people aren’t getting a lot of feedback from growers, as they haven’t really indicated a lot of big changes in acres,” said […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat extends rally on short-covering, dryness
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose for a fifth straight session on Thursday, hitting a 1-1/2-week high on short-covering and worries over potential yield losses due to poor weather in parts of the U.S. crop belt, analysts said. Corn and soybeans closed lower, with both commodities retreating from early gains on disappointing weekly […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures pare losses but remain weaker
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs closed lower for a sixth straight session on Thursday, and set fresh contract lows, plagued by a host of bearish fundamentals, traders said. April closed 1.825 cents per pound lower at 62.3 cents, and earlier made a new contract low of 61.125 cents in electronic trading […] Read more
Railways can’t dictate terms on grain backlog, Harper says
Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway have such huge market power that they cannot be allowed to dictate how Canada’s grain shipment backlog is cleared, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday. Harper said in an appearance in Saskatchewan that the grain backlog was not nearly as bad as it was a […] Read more
Newfoundland names new agriculture minister
Newfoundland and Labrador’s move to cut back on cabinet ministers has led to a new political chief for the province’s agriculture agency. Vaughn Granter, the MHA for Humber West since 2011 and minister for fisheries and aquaculture since last September, was appointed Thursday to an extra role as minister responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods […] Read more
Guenther: McDonald’s sustainability goals to reach beyond beef
Farmers who want to keep supplying the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant chains can expect more scrutiny of their methods going forward. That’s because the chains’ customers appear to be looking for more sustainably-produced food — so companies such as McDonald’s in turn are looking for third-party verification to prove the ingredients they source make the […] Read more