Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago/Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Friday that President Donald Trump had asked him to create a plan to help U.S. farmers cope with the heavy impact of the U.S.-China trade war on agriculture. A new aid program would be the second round of assistance for farmers, after the Department […] Read more
U.S. plans more aid for farmers amid China trade spat
U.S. grains: Soybeans plunge after Trump tariff threat against China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures plummeted to new contract lows on Monday — with soy plunging to the lowest levels seen in nearly eight months — after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week, clouding prospects for a trade settlement between […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures limit down on China trade fight, swine fever fears
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures plunged by the daily trading limit on Monday, and cattle was lower, amid worries about the spread of African swine fever and fears that President Donald Trump will follow through with threats to impose additional tariffs on China. The tariff threat, which sparked broad selling on equity […] Read more
ADM’s move to spin off ethanol assets speaks to industry’s woes
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York/Chicago | Reuters — Biofuels pioneer Archer Daniels Midland took another step toward abandoning its pure-play ethanol assets on Friday, the latest sign of the industry’s struggles with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars, thin margins, and overproduction. U.S. law requires ethanol to be blended into gasoline but domestic demand for the biofuel added […] Read more
U.S. farmers face devastation following Midwest floods
Reading Time: 4 minutes Winslow, Neb./Chicago | Reuters — Midwestern farmers have been gambling they could ride out the U.S.-China trade war by storing their corn and soybeans anywhere they could — in bins, plastic tubes, in barns or even outside. Now, the unthinkable has happened. Record floods have devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt across Iowa, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans inch up on China purchases
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures inched upward on Thursday on news that Chinese state-owned firms bought at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, while wheat futures dropped to their lowest levels in more than a year on pressure from a strengthening dollar, traders said. Chinese state-owned firms bought the U.S. soybeans for shipment […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans fall as news of China trade deal awaited
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago grain futures struggled to gain any traction on Tuesday, with wheat rising slightly on technical buying and soybeans slipping as traders anxiously awaited more news on the U.S.-China trade talks. Corn futures inched up late in the trading session, finding support on planting concerns and technical buying, traders said. “Corn […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on trade deal hopes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures climbed on Monday amid news reports that Beijing and Washington are close to settling a lingering trade dispute, a breakthrough that could boost China’s demand for U.S. soy and other agricultural products. Corn also rose, pulling away from a three-month low struck in the previous session. Wheat prices […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat rebounds from seven-month low
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rebounded on Thursday after a four-day slide, while the grains market overall steadied as U.S. and China trade negotiators sketched an outline for what could be a deal to end the trade war. Thursday’s technical bounce in wheat was encouraged by optimism over the trade negotiations, which also […] Read more
U.S. grains: CBOT wheat plunges to seven-month low
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures plunged yet again on Wednesday as traders fretted over lagging U.S. exports despite them being competitively priced in the global market. Soybeans started the day off on the negative side, with the most active soybean contract dipping just below the one-month low struck a day […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
