Reuters — The White House on Thursday directed the three U.S. agencies that oversee biotech crop products to improve and modernize their regulatory “framework” to boost public confidence in a system that critics call a failure. The order, announced in a statement by President Barack Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, followed demands by […] Read more

White House directs U.S. GMO regulators to update oversight

U.S. grains: Weather uncertainty lifts corn to six-month peak
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn futures rose to a six-month peak on Thursday, adding to strong gains earlier in the week as adverse weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest and Western Europe threatened crops. Prices for soybeans and wheat were mixed as investors squared positions ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday weekend […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat crumbles after hitting six-month high
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures plunged 4.4 per cent on Wednesday, with the front-month contract crashing from a six-month high as investors locked in profits from Tuesday’s corn-led rally, traders said. Corn closed mostly firmer after trading in negative territory for much of the day while soybeans […] Read more

U.S. grains: USDA data ignite biggest daily rallies in five years
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. grain and soybean futures on Tuesday climbed to their highest prices since December after the U.S. Agriculture Department said crop stockpiles and spring plantings were smaller than analysts expected. Traders are keeping a close eye on supply data amid uncertainty about how big the autumn corn and soybean harvests will […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Weather seen steering soybeans
CNS Canada — CBOT soybean futures posted solid gains over the past week, coming to a five-and-a-half month high on Tuesday. Weather guided the soybean trade, rather than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s acreage and stocks reports. John Weyer, co-director of the commercial hedge division at Walsh Trading, said soybeans came in near or above […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Corn prices drop CME feeder cattle limit down
Chicago | Reuters — Thinly traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures closed down their 4.5-cent/lb. maximum daily limit on Tuesday, responding to steep corn market gains, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures jumped nearly eight per cent after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bullish grain report. Pricey corn could increase input costs […] Read more

U.S. corn, soy stocks grow less than expected
Washington | Reuters — U.S. soybeans and corn stocks ballooned from a year ago but still missed market forecasts as strong demand ate into supplies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. Wheat supplies were bigger than expected. U.S. wheat has struggled on the export market and weak prices for corn have cut demand for […] Read more

Ont. farmers file for stay of province’s neonic regs
Ontario’s corn and soybean grower group is taking the province’s planned regulations on the use and sale of pesticide-treated seed to court. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) said Monday it filed a request late last week with the provincial Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, seeking a legal “interpretation” of the province’s rules on neonicotinoid-treated […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat firms as rain slows harvest
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose 2.5 per cent on Monday, closing in positive territory for the sixth time in seven sessions on support from wet weather that has been delaying harvest in key U.S. growing areas, traders said. The concerns about the slow harvest, which was most pronounced in […] Read more

U.S. corn, DDGS imports likely as drought tightens feed supply
CNS Canada –– Livestock producers in Western Canada will likely have to import feed grains such as corn and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) this year, as drought is seen trimming domestic barley and other feed production. “We’ve seen droughts before, and when it’s happened, usually what has to happen is we import other […] Read more