Buenos Aires | Reuters –– The company that led the breakneck expansion of Argentine soy cultivation over the last two decades has quietly reduced the area it farms by more than half as inflation, trade restrictions and high taxes drain growers’ profits. Los Grobo, once known as the South American country’s “King of Soy” has […] Read more
Argentina’s ‘Soy King’ abdicates in favor of biotech
Russia’s domestic wheat prices decline due to export curbs
Moscow | Reuters — Russia’s domestic wheat prices have declined since the start of the year as the government has curbed exports with informal limits ahead of the introduction of an official export tax, analysts said on Friday. Russia, expected to be the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter this year, imposed tougher quality monitoring of grain […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn rallies on bargain buying, export demand
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn rose 1.8 per cent on Friday for its biggest daily gain in about two weeks, rebounding from a nearly two-month low on support from short covering and increasing export demand. Wheat and soybean futures were mixed in light volume, with bargain buying supporting some contracts even as worries of […] Read more
U.S. scientists call 2014 Earth’s hottest year on record
Cape Canaveral | Reuters — Last year was Earth’s warmest on record, bolstering the argument that people are altering the planet’s climate by relentlessly burning fuels that belch greenhouse gases into the air, two major U.S. government agencies said Friday. Separate studies by the U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration […] Read more
Prairie farmers to benefit from lower ocean freight rates
CNS Canada — Western Canada’s grain farmers are expected to benefit from recent lower ocean freight rates as the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a measurement of such rates, has dropped significantly over the past couple of months. The BDI was quoted Friday at 749 points, up from a low of 709 points seen earlier in […] Read more
USDA approves Monsanto’s new GMO soybeans, cotton
Reuters — Monsanto Co. received final U.S. approval on Thursday for herbicide-tolerant crops to be used with a new herbicide the company says will fight problematic weed resistance on farm fields, but critics say will only worsen the problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the genetically modified […] Read more
Ontario farm registration streamlined
Ontario farmers filling out their farm business registration (FBR) forms in the next few weeks can look forward to five years of not doing so. Agricorp, the province’s farm programming delivery agency, noted in a statement that while all farmers in Ontario are required to complete the FBR form in 2015, the process has been […] Read more
Dairy support price trimmed starting March 1
Canada’s dairy producers can expect their overall revenue from sales of industrial milk to slip nearly two per cent starting in March. The Canadian Dairy Commission on Thursday announced it will snip the support price it sets for skim milk powder effective March 1 to $6.3109 per kilogram — down from the current $6.4754 — […] Read more
U.S. livestock: More CME live cattle selling as cash prices plunge
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle ended lower in volatile trade on Thursday, pressured by residual fund liquidation and the steep drop in cash prices, traders said. CME live cattle’s selloff extended losses to eight straight days. The February contract’s limit-down move on Tuesday delayed the “roll” by funds out of that […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans fall on soymeal tumble, NOPA data
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybeans reversed earlier gains to fall two per cent on Thursday, pressured by a steep downturn in soymeal futures and smaller-than-expected private crushing data. Wheat futures extended their worst downturn in six months on lacklustre export demand while corn was little-changed after falling to a five-week low in the previous […] Read more