Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and wheat futures climbed four per cent on Tuesday amid a broad-based rally in commodities led by crude oil as the dollar slipped to a near-two-week low on weaker domestic economic data, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade grain markets were overdue for a short-covering rebound after falling to […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn gets biggest boost of new year as dollar slips
Politics no barrier as Iran, Russia buy U.S. grain
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. political tensions with Iran and Russia have proved no barrier to those countries buying American grain, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday. Iran bought 66,000 tonnes of U.S. corn last week for the first time in three years, according to USDA weekly export sales […] Read more
Arctic air surge puts U.S. SRW wheat at risk of winterkill
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — An arctic blast hitting the U.S. Midwest this week will put a third of the dormant soft red winter (SRW) wheat crop at risk of damage, agricultural meteorologists said Monday. “It looks like extensive sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday night in the soft wheat belt will leave one-third of the belt at […] Read more
U.S. farmland rents soften with grain prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
USDA to issue long-term crop data early in bid to be more timely
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will issue some of its 10-year supply-demand projections for major U.S. crops and livestock two months early on Thursday to provide more current information to global commodity traders, a USDA economist said on Wednesday. “The projections are more timely now than when the complete report is […] Read more
U.S. distillers’ grain prices rise on domestic demand, China hopes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The price of corn-based distillers’ dried grain (DDG), a byproduct of ethanol refining, has jumped 25 per cent in the past month as demand rose from domestic livestock feed mixers as well as exporters on hopes China will return to the market after halting imports this summer, traders and analysts said […] Read more
U.S. farmers set for huge government payouts despite bumper harvest
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. farmers are about to reap a bumper harvest not just in corn and soybeans but also in new subsidies that could soar to US$10 billion, blowing a hole in the government’s promise that its new five-year farm bill would save taxpayers money. If payments for 2014, the first year the […] Read more
Freeze hits U.S. northern crops, rains to slow southern harvest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A weekend freeze across the northern Plains and upper U.S. Midwest likely hurt immature corn and soybean plants, reducing crop quality more than yields, agricultural meteorologists said Monday. Morning weekend lows in the Dakotas, Minnesota, northern Iowa and Nebraska ranged from the mid-20s to low 30s F. The chilliest temperatures were […] Read more
CME says no current plans to introduce VSR in corn futures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME Group, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade grain exchange, said on Wednesday it had no immediate plans to introduce its controversial variable storage rate (VSR) scheme in its CBOT corn futures, the world pricing benchmark for the biggest and most valuable feed grain. “We have no current plans to […] Read more
Early freeze looms for some crops amid U.S. bumper grain forecast
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Maturing corn and soybeans in the northern U.S. Midwest may see an early freeze this weekend that could damage crops still far behind in development, with agronomists saying this year’s record harvests may be trimmed. Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin crops are immature after late planting and a cool summer, raising […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
