Chicago | Reuters — When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of key farm reports would not be released on Friday due to the partial government shutdown, the phones at crop forecaster Gro Intelligence blew up. The USDA was set to release its views on the projected size of U.S. soybean stockpiles, among […] Read more
U.S. shutdown sends grain traders, farmers hunting for data
McDonald’s to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply
Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its global beef supply, fueling projections that other restaurants will follow suit. The move by the world’s biggest fast-food chain addresses concerns that the overuse of antibiotics vital to fighting human infections in farm animals may diminish the drugs’ effectiveness […] Read more
U.S. grains: Bigger-than-expected supplies knock down prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures slumped on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said farmers and crop handlers had more supplies in storage than analysts expected. The bigger-than-expected inventories from previous harvests add to an oversupply as U.S. farmers are starting to bring in another massive corn and soybean crop from their […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans rise on bargain buying, sale to Mexico
Chicago | Reuters — Bargain buying and a major sale of U.S. soy to Mexico on Wednesday helped lift U.S. soybean futures for a second day, traders said, while corn and wheat futures slipped. Soybeans are recovering after the most actively traded contract last week fell to its lowest price in nearly 10 years. The […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans top one-month high in turnaround from losses
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to their highest in more than a month on Tuesday in a turnaround from recent declines that were driven by concerns about the U.S.-China trade dispute hurting American exports. Corn futures also set a one-month high, while wheat pulled back from a one-month high reached on Monday. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, wheat surpass one-month highs
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and wheat futures jumped on Monday to their highest levels in over a month on technical buying as well as concerns about rain stalling the country’s autumn harvests. Soybean futures slumped as China — the world’s top buyer of the oilseed — and the U.S. imposed fresh tariffs on […] Read more
U.S. farmers rush to clear crops but animals stay in Florence’s path
Chicago | Reuters — As powerful Hurricane Florence advanced toward the southeastern U.S., farmers in North Carolina rushed to harvest corn and tobacco and stock up on pig rations, while the danger of sustained rain and deadly flooding threatened a state where millions of farm animals are housed. “The governor said that North Carolina is […] Read more
U.S. pork, fruit producers brace for second wave of Chinese tariffs
Beijing/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. producers of pork, already saddled with duties enacted in an earlier round of the escalating trade dispute with China, are bracing for further pain after Beijing hit the products with additional tariffs due to come into effect next month. China implemented a 25 per cent duty on most U.S. pork […] Read more
U.S. grain firms set up co-ops in tax law’s wake
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. agricultural merchants are scrambling to register themselves as cooperatives after a blunder in the country’s new tax law gave farmers a tax break for selling grains to co-ops rather than private firms. Private crop handlers — including the “big four” merchants Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus — […] Read more
Rush on to reverse U.S. tax boon for ag co-ops
Chicago | Reuters — Republican U.S. senators are working with some of the world’s biggest agricultural merchants to undo a last-minute provision in the tax overhaul that threatens to distort the grains market and starve private firms of corn, soy and wheat supplies. It was included during final revisions of the tax bill that passed […] Read more
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