Reading Time: < 1 minute The ongoing U.S. outbreak of avian flu in dairy cattle reached Minnesota on Thursday as the state announced its first infected herd.
Bird flu outbreak reported in Minnesota dairy herd, the state’s first
Pulse weekly outlook: Smaller North American dry bean crops to underpin prices
Canada's edible bean crop estimated smallest since 2016
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Variable weather conditions during the 2023 growing season cut into edible bean production in some key North American growing regions, with tighter supplies overall likely to keep prices well supported. “The whole world is a little short of beans this year,” said Mitch Coulter, executive director of the Northarvest Bean Growers Association in […] Read more
Weather outlook not great for Prairie crops
U.S. northern Plains in a similar boat
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Just when crops across the Canadian Prairies need rain, the outlook to the end of July according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. pointed to conditions getting hotter and drier. “It does not look really good at the moment. We are going to see below normal rainfall and warmer than normal temperatures […] Read more
Third Ontario poultry flock hit by avian flu
Backyard flock with 'increased mortality' also being tested; cases now also in four U.S. border states
Reading Time: 3 minutes A third poultry flock in southwestern Ontario has been confirmed with highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza — with another backyard flock now being tested, and the disease also now present in four U.S. border states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Wednesday announced it had confirmed the presence of high-path H5N1 in a poultry […] Read more
Minnesota grain handler targeted in ransomware attack
Company instead issuing handwritten tickets for grain deliveries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota agricultural co-operative Crystal Valley said it had been targeted in a ransomware attack in recent days, making it the second Midwestern farm-services provider in a week to be forced to take systems offline due to cybersecurity incidents. Crystal Valley, which sells supplies like fertilizer to farmers and buys their crops, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy sag on broad commodities weakness
Forecasts call for rain in northwestern U.S. Midwest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell about 2.5 per cent on Thursday, following broad declines in commodities including crude oil and metals tied to fears about slowing global growth, analysts said. Pressure also stemmed from forecasts for rains in northwestern portions of the Midwest that could improve production prospects, particularly for […] Read more
U.S. House ag leader loses election, unsettling Midwest farm sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, chair for the House of Representatives’ agriculture committee, failed to win re-election in Minnesota on Tuesday, a loss some agriculture leaders said could hurt the U.S. Midwest grain belt. Though Democrats retained control of the House and therefore will again chair the committee, Peterson’s exit could […] Read more
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
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
HyLife buys pork packing, hog production capacity
Firm buys stake in U.S. packer, Manitoba hog farming business
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian hog production and pork processing firm HyLife has moved to expand its reach in North American pork packing as well as Manitoba hog farming. La Broquerie, Man.-based HyLife announced last week it has bought a 75 per cent stake in Taylor Corp.’s Prime Pork, a packing and processing operation at Windom, Minnesota, about 200 […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
