CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle sink to new lows

COVID-19 continues to spook investors

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended mostly lower on Thursday, with several key contracts notching new contract lows on nagging worries about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on global economic growth and demand for beef. Commodity funds, which had recently built up a sizable net long position in live […] Read more

CBOT May 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat tumble as coronavirus rattles investors

Soybeans up off nine-month low on Argentina export news

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to contract lows on Thursday and wheat futures slumped to the lowest level in 2 -1/2 months in tandem with tumbling equities and energy markets amid investor fears of the coronavirus outbreak developing into a pandemic. Soybeans fell to their lowest point in nine months but later […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans bounce on chance of Argentina export limits

Coronavirus fears remain anchor on commodities prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures on Wednesday extended a rebound from a sharp drop earlier this week as investors anticipated changes to Argentine export taxes that could reduce export competition from the major soy supplier. Corn and wheat futures eased on pressure from a firmer dollar, which creates headwinds for U.S. exports, and […] Read more

CME April 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle sink on fund selling

Commodities funds take risk-off stance due to COVID-19

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell sharply in actively traded nearby contracts on Wednesday as concerns about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on demand triggered active selling by commodities funds. Slumping cash market prices further fueled the slide, with the benchmark April contract sinking to its lowest point […] Read more


Bayer CEO Werner Baumann speaks on May 25, 2018 during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Bonn. (File photo: Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay)

Pressure on for Bayer CEO to fix legal problems as chairman quits

Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — The departure of Bayer chairman Werner Wenning will turn up the heat on CEO Werner Baumann to resolve the healthcare to agriculture group’s legal problems, two of the firm’s biggest German shareholders said on Wednesday. Bayer’s shares have plunged about a quarter in value since August 2018, when the company lost […] Read more

File photo of young plants in a soybean field in Argentina. (Gracieross/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina ag ministry suspends registration of exports

Reading Time: < 1 minute Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina’s ministry of agriculture suspended on Wednesday the registration of agricultural exports until further notice, it said in a statement, a move that traders said likely foreshadowed a steep increase in grains export tariffs. “When they close the registration, it’s because something is coming,” said agricultural consultant Nestor Roulet, secretary […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans bounce, corn stabilizes

Warm winter, weaker Russian ruble drag on wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures stabilized on Tuesday and soybean futures firmed in a mild recovery from the prior session’s steep drop on fears about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Wheat futures were mixed after posting fresh lows on technical selling and pressure from ample global supplies and stiff competition for U.S. […] Read more

CME April 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle extend losses

COVID-19 coronavirus continues to rattle investors

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures fell sharply for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as fears of a coronavirus pandemic stoked concerns about demand and slower global economic growth. Commodities funds liquidated more of their sizable long holdings in cattle after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and […] Read more


The first CN train passes through the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on Feb. 24, 2020 after a camp next to the tracks was raided by police earlier in the day. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

Protestors put up new rail, road barricades in wake of arrests

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa/Toronto | Reuters — Protesters in Canada blocked train lines, Vancouver’s port entrance and at least one highway on Tuesday in response to the arrest of 10 indigenous activists when police dismantled a rail barricade in southern Ontario a day earlier. Ontario Provincial Police on Monday arrested some of the Tyendinaga Mohawk campaigners who had […] Read more

David Kayi, a Hello Tractor engineer, installs an application on a John Deere 5503 tractor, using the Hello Tractor technology that connects farmers with vehicles’ owners, at a hay farm at Umande village in Nanyuki, Kenya on Feb. 4, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Njeri Mwangi)

Deere taps tractor-hailing tech in bid to break ground in Africa

Low incomes, lack of credit hobble African mechanization

Reading Time: 3 minutes Nanyuki, Kenya/Johannesburg | Reuters — It’s ride-hailing, farm style. Deere and Co. is teaming up with the “Uber of tractors” in Africa and betting on a future where farmers summon machines with the touch of a button. The world’s leading farm equipment maker is outfitting its tractors with startup Hello Tractor’s technology, which allows farmers […] Read more