Reading Time: 5 minutes Harrod, Ohio | Reuters — After completing a credit review in a half-hour phone call, a BMO Harris Bank underwriter cleared US$12 million in loans for Ohio corn and soybean producer Greg Kruger in 2013. Kruger had initially asked for a $2 million loan to build a grain elevator. But the Chicago-based bank, one of […] Read more
How a major U.S. farm lender left a trail of defaults, lawsuits
U.S. livestock: Cattle trade bullish on potential exports to Japan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live and feeder cattle futures on Friday surged to their highest prices seen in nearly a month, as the cash market began to firm and traders grew more bullish about export demands after the U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal this week. The first-phase deal would open up […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybean futures ease
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn and soybean futures closed lower on Friday, as weather forecasts showed fewer yield risks to Midwest crops ahead of harvesting, as traders jockeyed for positioning ahead of a U.S. grain stocks report slated for Monday, traders said. Meanwhile, CBOT wheat futures extended a technical bounce […] Read more
Cargill’s quarterly profit up on beef, egg demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill reported a three per cent increase in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing strong consumer demand for meat and eggs in North America and growth in its animal nutrition businesses. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said its adjusted operating earnings rose to $908 million in […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slip on weather, Chinese buying concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Wednesday as investors worried U.S.-China trade relations could escalate and as thoughts of frost impacting U.S. Midwest yields began to ease, traders said. Soybean futures faced pressure after President Donald Trump criticized Chinese policy in his address at the United Nations on Tuesday, reviving worries that […] Read more
Trump trade-war aid sows frustration in farm country
Reading Time: 4 minutes Rochester, Minnesota | Reuters — The U.S. government is paying Texas cotton farmer J. Walt Hagood US$145 an acre for losses related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies. But Minnesota soybean farmer Betsy Jensen will get just US$35 an acre. Both farmers’ sales have taken heavy blows in Trump’s trade war with China. Neither […] Read more
Farmer’s threat prompts USDA to pull staff from crop tour
Reading Time: 3 minutes Henry County/Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat came over the phone from an angry farmer. Farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not reflect damage […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures swing wildly as trade war intensifies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) livestock futures swung wildly on Monday, with the most-active October lean hog futures going nearly limit-up and -down in the same trading session, amid growing tensions in the U.S.-China trade war. China’s commerce ministry said that Chinese companies have stopped buying U.S. agricultural products, and that China […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn futures rally on weather concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Volatility roiled the commodity grain futures markets on Monday, as uncertainty in the U.S. weather forecast supported corn and the growing tensions in the U.S.-China trade war weighed on soybeans. Wheat futures ended the day up on technical buying, traders said. China’s commerce ministry said that Chinese companies have stopped buying […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end week nearly flat, as hog futures inch up
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures ended the week near previous levels, as funds took some profits on deferred cattle positions and cash trade remained light. Cash cattle prices were steady to up $1 in Iowa and Nebraska on Friday, with prices at $114 to $116, traders said. Meanwhile, hog […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
