Good crop weather is expected now through autumn in the U.S. Midwest, drought will persist in the Plains states and excessive rainfall will continue in the southeast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) climate update released on Thursday. NOAA climatologists indicated no extreme temperatures or a return of drought in the key corn […] Read more
Crop-friendly weather for U.S. Midwest into autumn: NOAA
Saskatchewan crops in good shape despite storm damage
Crops in Saskatchewan were in mostly good to excellent shape as of July 15 although storms had caused serious damage, the province said on Thursday in its weekly crop report. • Percentage of crop in good/excellent condition: spring wheat 86 per cent; durum 88 per cent; oats 86 per cent; barley 81 per cent; canola […] Read more
Soybeans rise for 3rd session on weather-damage fears
U.S. new-crop soybeans rose for the third day on Wednesday on fears hot weather could damage the harvest, despite forecasts saying temperatures could cool slightly. Fundamentals * Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans rose 0.16 percent to $12.88-1/4 a bushel, having firmed 1.8 percent on Tuesday. * December corn climbed 0.29 percent to $5.12-1/4 a […] Read more
Oil exec says ethanol RINs ‘out of control,’ urges action
A leading U.S. oil executive urged legislators on Tuesday to relax a requirement to use renewable fuel in gasoline, blaming an “out of control” market in biofuel credits known as RINs for adding to fuel costs in a recent run-up in gasoline prices. At a Senate Energy Committee hearing, lawmakers sought answers for why a […] Read more
Mosaic to slow potash production
Mosaic Co will run its Canadian potash mines at less than 75 per cent of capacity collectively for maintenance in the current third quarter, as prices for the crop nutrient slip. The U.S. fertilizer company will curtail production at its Colonsay, Sask. mine, chief financial officer Larry Stranghoener said on Tuesday, adding that Mosaic may […] Read more
U.S. crop weather not picture-perfect, but pretty good
Corn and soybean growing weather in the U.S. Midwest this week will not be ideal, but overall it should be satisfactory in most key acreage areas, agricultural meteorologists said on Monday. • Global Weather Monitoring said the forecasts were not perfect for crop-growing conditions but it also will not be ultra hot or dry. • […] Read more
CEO says half Smithfield’s U.S. pork will soon be off ractopamine
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, said Tuesday it will soon raise half of its hogs on feed that does not contain the additive ractopamine, a lean-muscle-promoting drug that has been banned in China and Russia. Two Smithfield plants, which handle 43,000 hogs a day or about 10 per cent of the U.S. industry, […] Read more
Flooding, barge accidents halt Mississippi River traffic
Barge shipping on the Illinois River and parts of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Monday as flooding forced the closure of numerous locks and as crews worked to recover dozens of barges that broke free in flood-swollen currents. The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Mississippi between river mile markers 155 and 170 […] Read more
Meat packer JBS to buy Brazil poultry producer
Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s largest beef producer, said on Monday it signed a deal to buy local poultry processor Agroveneto for 128 million reais ($63 million) just months after its first move into the Brazilian poultry sector. JBS said in a statement that it would acquire Agroveneto, which specializes in ground poultry meat and is […] Read more
CBOT wheat, corn, and soy end lower
Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell, weighed down by a firm dollar that dampens investors’ enthusiasm for risky assets such as commodities, traders said. The declines were limited as the benchmark CBOT December wheat contract found support near its 100-day moving average of $8.62. For the week, CBOT December wheat rose 0.4 per cent. […] Read more
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