Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Singapore | Reuters –– China has told state-owned firms to halt purchases of soybeans and pork from the United States, two people familiar with the matter said, after Washington said it would eliminate special treatment for Hong Kong to punish Beijing. Large-volume state purchases of U.S. corn and cotton have also been put on hold, […] Read more
China tells state firms to halt purchases of major U.S. farm products
Purchases of soybeans, pork, corn, cotton on hold
Tyson to shut Iowa pork plant against COVID-19 outbreak
Plant handles up to 3.5 per cent of U.S. pork output
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods said on Thursday it will temporarily close an Iowa pork plant due to the coronavirus pandemic, a month after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered slaughterhouses to stay open to protect the country’s food supply. Meat processors such as Tyson, WH Group’s Smithfield Foods and JBS USA temporarily closed about […] Read more
Trump floats halt to U.S. cattle imports as pandemic hurts ranchers
'We have a lot of cattle in this country'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as he looks to help U.S. ranchers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. The United States imports cattle from Mexico and Canada to supplement domestic supplies at lower prices and to […] Read more
USDA limits review requirements of some biotech farm products
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As a result, some products could be sold to farmers without a USDA review — a move that […] Read more
Trump asks U.S. Justice Department to look into meat price disparities
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had urged the Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking industry broke antitrust law because the price that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals had dropped even as meat prices rose. “I’ve asked the Justice Department to look into it. … I’ve […] Read more
COVID-19 surges at reopened JBS Colorado beef plant, union says
A sixth worker has died, UFCW local chief says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — COVID-19 cases at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado have more than doubled “in a number of days” and a sixth employee died of the virus, a union official said on Thursday, underscoring the risks of U.S. meat plants reopening. The beef plant at Greeley, about 65 km north of Denver, […] Read more
JBS reopens Minnesota pork plant to cull pigs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Meat producer JBS said Wednesday it was reopening a Minnesota pork plant shuttered by the pandemic to euthanize up to 13,000 pigs a day for farmers, not to produce meat for consumers. U.S. farmers have been forced to cull livestock as they run short of space to house animals after some […] Read more
Joint U.S.-Canada border approach to pandemic seen as well-managed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa — The compromise between Canada and the U.S. to maintain the flow of goods between the two countries while limiting the trans-border flow of people during the COVID-19 crisis is a collaborative approach that serves as a global example, trade observers say. Alan Bersin, a global fellow at the Wilson Centre, said the border […] Read more
U.S. grains: Chicago wheat stabilizes
Corn steady after lows; soybeans continue to slip
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rose on Friday, as traders wrestled with conflicting signals — from concerns over export demand of U.S. crops to the potential of weather risks. Corn futures edged higher on bargain shopping, consolidating above a 3-1/2 year low this week, while soybeans fell slightly, traders said. The modest gains […] Read more
U.S. announces coronavirus aid for farmers, food buys for poor
Direct payments, mass purchases planned
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help U.S. farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products (all figures US$). The U.S. Agriculture Department is partnering with regional […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
