Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures sank on Friday on a round of end-of-week profit taking after prices hit an 8-1/2 week high on Thursday, traders said. Soybeans also fell, pressured by the expanding harvest of what is expected to be a bumper crop in the U.S., while corn was close to unchanged. Wheat […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat falls on profit-taking
Bulgaria opts out of growing GM crops
Sofia | Reuters –– Bulgaria has told the European Union it will ban the cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under EU rules that allow member states to opt out of GMO cultivation, the agriculture ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “The agriculture ministry upholds its position that Bulgaria should be free […] Read more
ConAgra to cut 1,500 jobs, shift base to Chicago from Omaha
Reuters — ConAgra Foods said it would cut about 1,500 jobs and move its headquarters to Chicago from Omaha as part of a plan to save at least US$300 million in three years. The maker of Chef Boyardee pasta and Healthy Choice dinners is under pressure to cut costs and accelerate growth as consumers shift […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat extends rally, soybeans slip
Reuters — Chicago wheat rose more than one per cent on Thursday, extending a rally triggered by Wednesday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture data that put the 2015 U.S. crop below market estimates. Corn futures rose slightly on technical buying and spillover support from wheat. Soybeans slumped on pressure from an advancing Midwest harvest and technical […] Read more
TPP trade ministers push to wrap up ambitious trade deal
Atlanta | Reuters — Pacific trade ministers readied on Wednesday to close the biggest trade deal in a generation but warned there was still work to be done on issues ranging from intellectual property to trade in dairy and automobiles. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat futures jump as USDA cuts production outlook
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rebounded on Wednesday, after a government report showed that wheat production was less than traders had expected. Meanwhile, corn futures lost ground, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly grain stocks report showed that both corn and soybean supplies were plentiful and U.S. farmers are harvesting what is […] Read more
Supply management the hot button at ag debate
CNS Canada — Representatives from Canada’s five main parties met Wednesday in Ottawa to discuss and debate farm policy ranging from risk management to transportation and rural infrastructure ahead of the Oct. 19 federal election. The hot button issue of the debate, however, was Canada’s supply management systems for dairy, poultry and eggs. The topic […] Read more
U.S. workers sue Monsanto claiming herbicide caused cancer
Reuters — A U.S. farm worker and a horticultural assistant have filed lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide caused their cancers and Monsanto intentionally misled the public and regulators about the dangers of the herbicide. The lawsuits come six months after the World Health Organization’s cancer research unit said it was classifying glyphosate, the active weed-killing […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy gain as shorts hunt for cover
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn futures rebounded on Tuesday as traders covered short positions on concerns that the U.S. Agriculture Department would reduce its estimate for last year’s soybean crop. Wheat prices eased back, despite being bolstered earlier in the day by steadying equity and oil prices, and cooling concerns about the […] Read more
Liberals, NDP say would clarify foreign takeover rules
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Canada’s Liberal and New Democratic parties, vying to replace the governing Conservatives in a tight three-way election race, both say they would clarify rules around foreign corporate takeovers if they win. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, campaigning in Winnipeg on Tuesday, said foreign investors need clearer rules around takeovers. “(Conservative Prime Minister […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
