CNS Canada — Oats futures at the Chicago Board of Trade have been creeping higher, which a U.S.-based analyst attributes to increasing demand for minor feed grains. Data from Canada and the U.S. project oat yields to increase from last year, which are capping gains, but at the same time, the demand picture has improved. […] Read more

Stronger demand for minor feeds reflected in oats futures

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies 1.5 per cent
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures all firmed on Thursday on support from better-than-expected export sales reports for all three commodities, traders said. Gains in soybeans were limited by a huge global supply base following bumper harvests across the U.S. Midwest as well as improving crop weather in South America. Wheat […] Read more

Syngenta ready to play role in sector shake-up
Frankfurt | Reuters — Syngenta and other major seeds and crop chemicals companies are intensively discussing tie-ups, the Financial Times quoted the Swiss firm’s chairman as saying Wednesday, adding to a chorus of voices predicting a sector shake-up. Conversations among the leading players in the industry are “extremely active,” the newspaper quoted Michel Demare as […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat close lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Wednesday in a technical setback following two days of modest gains, traders said. Wheat futures also weakened as a bleak fundamental picture, highlighted by plentiful global stocks, cast a bearish tone across the agriculture sector. Corn was mixed, with some contracts edging higher on a late […] Read more

ConAgra to spin off Lamb Weston potato unit, rebrand
Reuters — ConAgra Foods said it will spin off its Lamb Weston frozen potato products business into a separate public company, the latest in a series of changes announced by the maker of Chef Boyardee pasta and Slim Jim jerky at a time when consumers are shifting to less-processed foods. Lamb Weston will hold ConAgra’s […] Read more

Ag chem division not for sale, Bayer says
Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and pesticide maker Bayer on Wednesday reaffirmed it would hold on to its crop chemicals business as talk of consolidation in the industry continued. Asked for a comment on remarks by Monsanto executives that the U.S. seeds giant was in internal discussions about tie-ups in the industry, a Bayer […] Read more

Syngenta still among options for Monsanto takeover bids
St. Louis | Reuters — Monsanto executives are discussing whether the world’s largest seed company should acquire agrochemical rivals, including top pesticide maker Syngenta, Monsanto president Brett Begemann said Tuesday. “Everybody’s talking now. There’s multiple ways things can occur,” he said. Monsanto abandoned a $45 billion bid for Syngenta in August (all figures US$). Begemann […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle finish strong after wild ride
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed higher on Tuesday amid massive short-covering spurred by higher wholesale beef values that overcame selling led by lower cash price expectations for later this week, traders said. Spot December finished at 128.025 cents/lb., up 0.35 cent, and February 0.925 cent higher at 130.575 cents […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat futures sag as conditions improve
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures shed 1.3 per cent on Tuesday, their third straight day of declines, after a government report showed that crop conditions improved amid better moisture in main growing areas, traders said. “I do not think there is much going on out there (to help wheat),” said Mike Krueger, president […] Read more

Running rights on table in CP bid for Norfolk Southern
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) says it hopes to unclog one of the most infamous rail traffic bottlenecks in the U.S. with a bid to buy railway Norfolk Southern. Confirming a recent news report on its plans, CP announced Tuesday it has sent an offer letter to Virginia-based NS. The Calgary company didn’t disclose any financial […] Read more