CN closes deal on Iowa railway

CN closes deal on Iowa railway

The agreement will link about 275 track miles to the carrier's U.S. rail network

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian National Railway (CN) has inked a deal to buy an Iowa railway and connect it to its U.S. rail network, the company announced Dec. 6.


An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

Vilsack hopes fertilizer firms don’t take advantage of Ukraine crisis

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday he hoped fertilizer and agriculture supply companies affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not take unfair advantage of the situation, amid already-high fertilizer and crop prices. Fertilizer costs have soared due to rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and […] Read more

CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans ease as Midwest’s rains seen boosting crop

CBOT December corn up, wheat down

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for a second straight session on Friday as rains were seen boosting harvest prospects in some dry areas of the Midwest farm belt. Wheat futures fell on profit-taking and spillover pressure from lower soybeans, although concerns about global supplies limited declines. Corn was lower much of the […] Read more


(TysonFoods.com)

Tyson fires seven managers after probe into COVID-19 wagering

Employees had been suspended following lawsuit

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Tyson Foods said Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19. The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at […] Read more

Tom Vilsack speaks to farmers at a rural agricultural co-operative at Guira de Melena in Cuba on Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini)

Vilsack expected to return as USDA secretary

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for agriculture secretary, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Biden transition office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. Vilsack, who led the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Corn, soy ease as harvest, export prospects weighed

Wheat ends higher after mixed trade

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans slipped on Thursday after a seven-month peak a day earlier, while corn eased as traders set recent storm damage against generally strong prospects for harvest yields. Wheat ended higher as traders digested competing signals for global supply. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade closed down […] Read more

Subject: Storage grain bin silos in a field of matured corn crop in harvest time.

Minnesota fields thrive, Iowa storm damage continues on crop tour

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Scouts on an annual U.S. Midwest crop tour continued to see fields battered by an Aug. 10 derecho storm in central Iowa on Thursday, with corn stalks snapped and ears littering the ground due to the hurricane-like winds. In Iowa, crop prospects swung wildly from field to field, according to scouts […] Read more



U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a disaster recovery briefing following last week’s severe windstorm, at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids on Aug. 18, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tom Brenner)

Trump visits Iowa as officials warn storm destroyed corn crops

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cedar Rapids | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers and state officials from Iowa said on Tuesday that much of the state’s corn crop will not be harvested following a fierce windstorm last week, as President Donald Trump visited to review the damage. The destruction from the Aug. 10 derecho storm compounded troubles for a U.S. agricultural […] Read more