Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures tumbled to their lowest prices in more than a decade on Thursday as traders worried that make-or-break trade talks between Washington and Beijing would fail to produce a deal. Corn and wheat futures also fell as a two-day U.S.-China trade meeting was set to begin in Washington. President […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures break 10-year low on China trade tensions
U.S. grains: Soy futures stabilize, eyeing China trade talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures crept higher on Tuesday as traders breathed a sigh of relief over confirmation that a top Chinese negotiator will visit the United States for trade talks this week. Corn and wheat futures also strengthened at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Traders are monitoring any news on trade […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans plunge after Trump tariff threat against China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures plummeted to new contract lows on Monday — with soy plunging to the lowest levels seen in nearly eight months — after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week, clouding prospects for a trade settlement between […] Read more
Fed-up Canada tells U.S. to help with China crisis or forget about favours
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is leaning on the United States to help settle a dispute with China, which has started to block imports of vital Canadian commodities amid a dispute over a detained Huawei executive. In a sign of increasing frustration at what it sees as a lacklustre U.S. response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s […] Read more
Bernie Sanders promises help for family farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan on Sunday to help family farmers and rural residents, promising to break up corporate agricultural monopolies and invest heavily in social and economic programs in struggling rural communities. Sanders, an independent U.S. senator and fierce corporate critic, said on a campaign trip to Iowa that […] Read more
North Korea faces food crisis after poor harvest, UN says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — Four in 10 North Koreans are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday. Official rations are down to 300 grams (10.6 ounces) per person per day, the lowest ever for this time […] 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
Alberta UCP’s trade critic named ag minister
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s new premier has tapped a not-quite-rookie MLA with experience in farming, farm policy and U.S. politics as his new minister of agriculture and forestry. Jason Kenney, sworn in Tuesday as premier, named Devin Dreeshen, the MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake since last July, to handle the ag and forestry file. Dreeshen came to the UCP’s […] 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
Canada gearing up to slap more tariffs on U.S. imports
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada will update its list of U.S. imports, including farm products, on which it will place tariffs in retaliation to U.S. tariffs on imported Canadian steel and aluminum, David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said Monday. “The intention… is not to escalate anything but simply to do what we said we’d do — […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
