Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden wants to give that country’s farmers more power in negotiating the sale of livestock to big processors and in deciding who repairs their tractors, the White House said on Tuesday. The executive order, expected within days, will also address such competitive issues as delayed airline baggage, cellphone […] Read more
Biden seeks to lift limits on U.S. farmer dealings with tractor makers, packers
Executive order to address corporate 'abuses of power'
U.S. refiners amass biofuel liability as Biden mulls relief
Open RIN positions could hit refiners' earnings
Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — U.S. merchant refiners have amassed up to a US$1.6 billion shortfall in the credits they will need to comply with U.S. biofuel laws, according to a Reuters review of corporate disclosures, an apparent bet that the Biden administration could let them off the hook or that credit prices will fall. […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Weather market expected for rest of month
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The weather is just one of the factors guiding futures values at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to Terry Reilly, grains analyst for Futures International in Chicago. As prices have fluctuated with hot and dry weather interrupted by rain, Reilly noted there’s more to the ebbs and flows than the latest […] Read more
JBS Canada plant up and running after cyberattack
Brooks beef plant has 'resumed production'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Meat packer JBS’s major beef slaughter plant in Alberta went back to work Tuesday following a cyberattack reported to have downed several of the company’s operations in North America and Australia. JBS USA, the unit overseeing the Brazilian firm’s Canadian operations, and JBS-owned chicken unit Pilgrim’s Pride both reported “significant progress in resolving the cyberattack […] Read more
U.S. requests CUSMA dispute panel on Canadian dairy quotas
TRQs improperly allocated, USTR alleges
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Biden administration on Tuesday escalated a simmering trade dispute with Canada over dairy import quotas, requesting that the first dispute settlement panel under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement be formed to review the matter. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its complaint alleges that Canada was improperly allocating CUSMA tariff-rate import quotas […] Read more
Ford wires its electric trucks for business customers
Tesla, GM seen positioning electric pickups as 'lifestyle vehicles'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Detroit | Reuters — Ford Motor Co.’s newly revealed electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup doubles down on a bet that the company can beat Tesla and other rivals by giving new technology a familiar face and convincing longtime fleet and business customers that going electric saves money. Ford officially unveiled the battery electric […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soyoil leads soybean complex higher
Wheat follows corn, soy higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures climbed on Tuesday, led by rising soybean oil as global edible oil supplies tighten. Corn futures also moved higher, as traders weighed Brazil’s late-planted second crop against beneficial rains in Argentina. Wheat followed the markets higher, despite much-needed rainfall across the U.S. Plains production belt. The most-active soybean […] Read more
New U.S. trade chief Tai focused on CUSMA, China ties in calls
New trade deals on hold for now, White House says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — New U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai mapped out her priorities and Washington’s desire to rebuild alliances in initial calls on Monday with her counterparts from Canada, Britain and the European Union. Tai, sworn in Thursday as President Joe Biden’s top trade negotiator, emphasized climate change, racial equity and the need to […] Read more
U.S. Senate confirms Vilsack as Biden’s ag secretary
Pandemic leaves USDA 'a lot of work to do'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Tom Vilsack to head the Department of Agriculture, returning the former Iowa governor to the job he held under ex-President Barack Obama. The 100-member Senate approved Vilsack 92-7. He needed a simple majority in the Democratic-controlled chamber to be confirmed. As secretary of the sprawling department, Vilsack […] Read more
Cash-strapped pot producers raise billions in market rally
Cannabis firms seen as down in the weeds until recent surge
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A political shift in the United States has unlocked an estimated US$1.38 billion jackpot for struggling pot producers who have cashed in on a surge in their shares since President Joe Biden’s election in November. Cannabis producers have issued stock worth this amount in the first five weeks of 2021, investment firm Viridian […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
