Chicago | Reuters — Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade surged more than three per cent on Monday, notching their biggest daily gains since October as investors liquidated a portion of the record-large short stake, traders said. Corn and soybean futures each rose to fresh multi-month highs, before trimming gains in largely technically […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat surges over three per cent
Scientists take sides: Who’s right about glyphosate?
London | Reuters — The latest dispute to blow up around the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concerns glyphosate, an ingredient in one of the world’s most widely-used herbicides, Roundup, made by Monsanto. In March 2015, an IARC monograph concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic.” Yet seven months later the European Food Safety […] Read more
Doomsday Vault keepers move to lock up more funding
Oslo | Reuters — The Crop Trust, which runs a so-called doomsday seed vault in the Arctic, secured a doubling of its core funds on Friday and urged the private sector to do more to safeguard commercial food production. Friday’s pledges totalling about $150 million were mainly from governments, including the U.S., Germany and Australia, […] Read more
Ad Feature: Edmonton firm acquires water works capacity
Edmonton-based Stantec Inc., an engineering and infrastructure consulting company, has announced the biggest deal in its 62-year history. The all-cash deal for Broomfield, Colorado-based MWH Global, which Stantec said is expected to close in the second quarter could increase Stantec’s annual revenues by about 60 per cent, to more than $4.5 billion, while its global […] Read more
Mars Food tells customers to go easy on the pasta sauce
London | Reuters –– Mars Food plans to tell customers to eat some of its Dolmio pasta sauces and macaroni cheese only once a week to maintain a balanced diet because of the products’ high levels of salt, sugar or fat. The scheme is part of a larger initiative by the privately owned U.S. food […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn hits four-month top on short-covering
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures hit a four-month high on Friday as concern about summer weather risk in the Midwest and dry conditions in Brazil prompted investors to cover short positions, analysts said. Soybean futures also rose, but stayed below multi-month peaks set this week, while wheat ended flat. At the Chicago Board […] Read more
Alberta to shut livestock, grain agencies in budget
Alberta’s farmers will be spared the new fuel levy planned for next year in the province’s latest budget, but can expect a number of farm agencies to close in the meantime as the province moves to curb spending. Provincial Finance Minister Joe Ceci on Thursday announced a 2016-17 budget with projected revenue of $41.38 billion, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy falls from eight-month top
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell nearly one per cent on Thursday on profit-taking and softening cash markets following a four-session advance that lifted the spot May contract to an eight-month high, traders said. Wheat futures ended lower one day after setting a one-week high. But corn settled modestly higher, supported by stronger-than-expected […] Read more
China may cultivate GM corn in next five years
Beijing | Reuters — China, the world’s second-largest corn consumer, may allow commercial cultivation of pest-resistant genetically-modified (GM) corn within the next five years, an agriculture ministry official said Wednesday. “We will push forward the commercial process of new strains of pest-resistant cotton and pest-resistant corn among other key crops,” during the 13th Five Year […] Read more
CME to close New York trading floor in computers’ victory
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group will shut its New York trading floor at year’s end as computerized trading claims another victim from the world’s old-school financial system. Options pits, where trades in commodities like gold, silver and oil take place face-to-face instead of electronically, will close a year after the CME shut most of […] Read more
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