Reuters — U.S. farmland rents for 2015 are on track to be down 5 to 10 per cent from the top fees of a year ago due to lower grain prices, but landowners remain stubborn about deeper cuts and some are adding clauses to boost revenue if grain prices bounce back. More than half the […] Read more
U.S. farmland rents soften with grain prices
Weak bones? Agriculture may be to blame
The invention of agriculture may have allowed for many human advances, but strong bones may not be one of them, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. Writing in the journal PNAS, they says that human skeletons have become much lighter and more fragile since the invention of agriculture. Hunter-gatherers from around 7,000 years ago […] Read more
More duties for Manitoba ag minister
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn has been appointed as minister of infrastructure and transportation and minister responsible for emergency measures. He replaces Steve Ashton, who has resigned from cabinet to run for NDP leader at a convention in March. Kostyshyn will also remain minister of agriculture, food and rural development, a post he has held […] Read more
Report cites close relationship between vets and drug firms
Reuters — In 2016, a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy will give veterinarians a key role in combatting a surge in antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” that infect humans. For the first time, the agency will require veterinarians, not farmers, to decide whenever antibiotics used by people are given to animals. Medical doctors issue antibiotics by […] Read more
USDA report says no risk from pesticide residues
Reuters — More than half of food tested by the U.S. government for pesticide residues last year showed detectable levels of pesticides, though most were within levels the government considers to be safe, according to a report issued Dec. 19 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA looked at fresh and processed fruits and […] Read more
U.S. grains: U.S. corn sets five-month high on rising export demand
U.S. corn futures on Monday touched a fresh five-month high on firm export demand, while wheat slumped on profit-taking and slow sales to foreign buyers. Soybeans also advanced on strong export sales in light trading volume ahead of the Christmas holiday, traders said. Corn futures finished near unchanged after the nearby contract rose to its highest level since July. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up 3rd straight day; hogs slide
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle rose for a third day in a row Monday on short-covering and positioning before the Christmas holiday, traders said. CME live cattle drew more support from buy stops and fund buying after February and April surpassed their respective 10-day moving averages of 160.64 cents and 160.18 cents. December closed 1.100 […] Read more
U.S. researchers develop CWD vaccine
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere say that a vaccination they have developed to fight a brain-based, wasting syndrome among deer and other animals may hold promise on two additional fronts: Protecting U.S. livestock from contracting the disease, and preventing similar brain infections in humans. The study, to be published in Vaccine online […] Read more
Russia’s new grain export duty sows confusion
Moscow / Reuters — Russia stiffened its bid to curb grain exports on Monday with plans for a duty on shipments, to defend domestic bread supply against a crumbling rouble. Russia, one of the world’s top wheat exporters to North Africa and the Middle East, has been exporting record volumes of grain this year as […] Read more
Durum prices relatively steady
Commodity News Service Canada — The volatility in the global wheat markets in recent weeks has largely bypassed durum, which has seen its premiums over hard red spring wheat erode slightly in Western Canada. “Durum does what it wants, when it wants,” said a Saskatchewan-based durum broker, noting that the recent strength in Canada Western […] Read more