The AltEn ethanol plant at Mead, Neb. on March 21, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Humeyra Pamuk)

Floods shut nearly a sixth of U.S. ethanol production

Mead, Neb./New York | Reuters — Massive flooding in the U.S. Midwest has knocked out roughly 13 per cent of the nation’s ethanol production capacity, as plants in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota have been forced to shut down or scale back production following the devastation. Production facilities owned by large companies like Archer Daniels […] Read more


Nebraska State Police tweeted aerial footage on March 15, 2019 showing cattle stranded on tiny islands in floodwaters around Fremont, about 50 km northwest of Omaha. (Nebraska State Police photo via @NEStatePatrol on Twitter)

U.S. farm belt slammed by floods, heavy snow from bomb cyclone

Reuters — A harsh late-winter storm broadsided a vast swath of the U.S. agriculture industry this week as heavy snow closed roads and buried cattle in the Plains while excessive rain flooded Midwest fields and swamped grain elevators. A “bomb cyclone” hurled hurricane-force winds, sparked tornadoes and dumped heavy snow and rain across the Plains […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Bunge names acting CEO, cuts 2018 guidance

Reuters — Global grains trader Bunge appointed one of a slew of new board members as its acting CEO on Tuesday and cut its 2018 earnings forecast as the U.S.-China trade war battered soybean prices and devalued the company’s inventory in Brazil. Gregory Heckman, a founding partner of private investment firm Flatwater Partners and former […] Read more



Valero Energy’s ethanol plant at Aurora, S.D., about 90 km north of Sioux Falls. (Valero.com)

U.S. ethanol producers seek reforms as markets plunge, ADM sells

New York/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. ethanol producers stung by collapsing prices are seeking changes to the way benchmark values for the biofuel are established, arguing the current system used by exchanges is vulnerable to manipulation, according to sources. The push comes as the key farm belt industry struggles with weak demand growth, a loss […] Read more



The Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018.
 Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

ADM profit tops estimates on export sales, oilseeds

Reuters – Archer Daniels Midland Co reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, as the U.S. grain merchant made export sales to buyers in countries other than China during an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing. Strong margins for oilseeds crushing also boosted earnings. The United States and China have imposed tariffs on hundreds […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

ADM ramps up ethanol sales in Chicago, irking rivals

New York/Chicago | Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland has sold unusually high volumes of ethanol into the Chicago market since late last year as export markets dried up, driving down prices in the U.S. Midwest and angering the company’s rivals, according to traders and regulatory data. The Illinois-based global commodities powerhouse, a major ethanol producer, […] Read more