Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell to fresh contract lows on Wednesday, pressured by sluggish exports and worries that rain-delayed U.S. corn seeding would expand the number of acres planted with soybeans, which can be sown later in the spring. Corn futures firmed as soggy fields around much of the Midwest and forecasts […] Read more
U.S. grains: Export worries, big supplies drag soybean futures to new lows
APP pumped up, AgriStability deadline extended against China canola ban
Reading Time: 4 minutes The federal Advance Payments Program’s loan limits and interest-free portions will be raised and the deadline for AgriStability enrolment extended in a bid to help Canadian canola growers with cash flow. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr on Wednesday announced the expansions and extensions along with plans to engage other […] Read more
No fresh aid package for U.S. farmers planned for now, Perdue says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration does not have any active plans to provide more aid to farmers at the moment but can consider the option if the trade negotiations and weak commodity prices linger, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday. “We have been very clear to the agriculture community that […] Read more
Canada promises farm aid amid China canola spat
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Ottawa would soon announce help for canola farmers hurt by a China ban on imports of the oilseed but brushed off calls to pull funding for a Chinese-led investment bank. China and Canada are locked in a diplomatic and trade dispute that has […] Read more
Canadian farm exports hit new Chinese obstacles amid diplomatic dispute
Reading Time: 4 minutes Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — An expanding list of Canadian farm exports is hitting obstacles at Chinese ports, leaving sellers of soybeans, peas and pork scrambling amid a bitter diplomatic dispute. China has already blocked Canadian canola from Richardson International and Viterra, two of Canada’s biggest farm exporters, saying that shipments had pests. Other China-bound canola […] Read more
Trump administration eyes more aid to farmers if necessary
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration is ready to provide more federal aid to farmers if required, a White House adviser said on Monday, after rolling out up to US$12 billion since last year to offset agricultural losses from the trade dispute with China. “We have allocated $12 billion, some such, to farm assistance. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop on demand concerns, plentiful supplies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell for a third straight session on Monday on large supplies of hogs and worries about cooling domestic and export demand for pork, traders said. Cash pork prices were firm, but a stretch of cold and wet weather around parts of the United States, including an unusual […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn firms as rains stall planting
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures firmed on Monday, hitting the highest point in a week as wet weather across much of the U.S. Midwest and forecasts for continued rains this week threatened to prolong spring planting delays. Soybeans were lower on sluggish U.S. exports, abundant global supplies and worries that delayed corn seeding […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs post third weekly slide
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures declined on Friday, pressured by soft cash markets and long liquidation, traders said. The benchmark June lean hogs contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange recorded its third straight weekly decline after soaring to an April 5 contract high at 99.825 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The contract closed […] 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
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
