A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by farmers at Rio Pardo in Brazil’s Rondonia state on Sept. 15, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

Brazil tells landowners to stop setting fires in Amazon ‘climate emergency’

Properties could be embargoed, agency says

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government told ranchers and farmers on Friday to stop setting fire to the Amazon rainforest as clouds of dense gray smoke make the air increasingly unbreathable in the northern city of Manaus, threatening sanctions if they do burn areas of land. “Fire is not natural in the Amazon, it […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20- and 50-day moving averages and December 2023 soymeal (dark grey line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans surge after USDA projects smaller soy, corn crops

CBOT corn, wheat also higher

New York | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn futures shot up on Thursday following a closely watched U.S. government report forecasting a smaller corn and soybean harvest than previously projected, and below an average of analysts’ estimates. The Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) most-active soybean futures contract jumped about three per cent to settle […] Read more


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans drop in choppy trade

Wheat futures lifted by surprise purchase from China

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Tuesday, at one point nearing their lowest levels since December of 2021, under pressure from a stronger dollar, improving signs for the U.S. harvest and a brisk start to planting in Brazil. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans settled down 0.3 per cent at $12.72-3/4 a bushel. Futures […] Read more

CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat up off three-year low after steep sell-off

CBOT corn rises, soybeans flat as Brazil plantings race forward

Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rebounded on Monday on what one analyst characterized as “bottom-picking” after prices dropped more than six per cent to three-year lows on Friday. Corn followed wheat higher, but soybeans prices remained low after news reports of Brazilian farmers planting at a rapid clip. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) late […] Read more


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up as heat risk in focus

Weak demand erodes corn, wheat

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures firmed for a second straight session on Thursday, supported by strong exports and supply uncertainty as hot, dry weather cast uncertainty over U.S. prospects. Corn inched down as the market assessed results from this week’s Pro Farmer crop tour. Wheat eased as traders weighed strong global supplies against […] Read more

JBS signage at Greeley, Colorado. (JBS.com.br)

Brazil’s JBS reboots plan to list shares in New York

International meat packer hopes for access to lower-cost capital

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer, on Wednesday proposed listing its shares in New York, hoping the move will bring its multiples closer to peers and that a broader investor base will give it more access to cheaper capital, sending its shares up eight per cent in mid-morning trade. […] Read more


CBOT July 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans reach one-month high on weather woes

Wheat up, corn mixed

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures hit a one-month high on Tuesday on worries about dry conditions in the Midwest hurting crop prospects and spillover strength from crude oil, traders said. Corn futures were mostly higher on the Midwest weather jitters, but the nearby July contract fell on profit-taking and worries about demand for […] Read more

Frost on land in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state. (Edson Hardt/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil justice grants Congress more time on bill limiting Indigenous rights

Case pits Indigenous against Big Ag

Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country’s Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass a measure favouring Big Agriculture. The decision by Justice Andre Mendonca, an Evangelical pastor […] Read more


File photo of uncooked chicken wings. (Mimadeo/iStock/Getty Images)

Global chicken meat oversupply improving, Brazil’s BRF says

Lower grain costs also expected to boost margins

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Chicken prices are rising as companies start to cut production to reduce global oversupply, Fabio Mariano, CFO of BRF SA, said on Tuesday, after a glut helped to push the Brazilian pork and poultry producer to a first-quarter loss. The firm posted a 1.024 billion-real (C$287.7 million) net loss for […] Read more

CBOT May 2023 corn with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn continues climb, closes higher for fourth week

Traders watching cooler weather in U.S. southern Plains

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago corn futures settled higher on Friday, making the fourth straight week of gains, after a week of flash sales to China and demand for ethanol processing. Soybeans closed lower, ending a gains streak since late March, as a record Brazilian harvest tempered concern about drought losses in Argentina. The […] Read more