Farmers in the top wheat state of North Dakota will not get all their intended wheat, corn and canola acres seeded this spring due to heavy rains and flooding, an executive of a U.S. wheat group said Friday. “No question the increased intentions on wheat, corn and canola will not be met in North Dakota […] Read more
N.D. wheat, corn acres losing to soy, sunflower
U.S. Farmers Riding High — But How Long?
Reading Time: 2 minutes The U.S. agricultural economy is the healthiest in years as rising farm income allows farmers to pay off debt and buy land and machinery to meet booming demand for crops and livestock. So why worry? Because historically low interest rates and rising land values heighten concern about speculative bubbles, a debt binge and all the […] Read more
U.S. Biodiesel Alive, But On Government Life Support
Reading Time: 3 minutes Biodiesel, still a money-losing proposition in the United States compared to oil-based diesel, is about to have its best year ever thanks to government tax credits and usage mandates. But it will take months for the biodiesel industry to bounce back after being stranded last year, when the government let its six-year subsidy expire. Biodiesel […] Read more
Stuffed U. S. Grain Elevators Brace For Huge Harvest – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. grain handlers, already burdened with big wheat inventories, are bracing for a mammoth corn and soybean harvest across America’s heartland. Merchants will have to find room for 17 billion bushels of corn and soybeans – the largest U. S. harvest in history. A recent spike in U. S. exports after drought-stricken Russia announced a […] Read more
Farm Technology Push Must Speed Up
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture needs to increase productivity rapidly and expand in key farming areas like the Black Sea and Africa for world food needs to be met, J.B. Penn, chief economist at farm equipment maker John Deere said in an interview. “Regardless of the impact of climate change, we are going to have to produce a lot […] Read more
China To Stay Strong Buyer Of Soy
Reading Time: 2 minutes China will remain a strong buyer of soybeans through 2009 as it builds up domestic reserves and imports soy to meet the demands of its expanding meat sector, a top Bunge executive said May 18. “We do expect China to be a significant buyer throughout the remainder of this year and on into the future,” […] Read more
Ag Leaders Promote Free Trade Benefits
Reading Time: 2 minutes “We should avoid market interference in the consumption sector – food price controls, export taxes, export embargoes – and avoid government intervention and market distortions in the production sector” Farm trade must play a lead role in fighting protectionism and unwarranted government interventions in free markets as world economies contract, industry leaders told an agricultural […] Read more
China Demand Boosts Beans
Reading Time: 3 minutes The humble soybean is seeing another price surge that is ignoring the world recession and could push food prices higher. A smaller South American soybean crop, which is now being harvested, and China’s voracious appetite for soy products among its growing and increasingly affluent population, pushed U. S. soy prices to a six-month top last […] Read more
Futures Limited For Non-Grain Players
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Feb. 13 received U. S. government approval to limit cash grain delivery instruments held by non-grain firms – its latest move to cool criticism about the performance its grain contracts. CBOT’s regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), approved an amended Feb. 9 request to reduce the large […] Read more
CBOT To Limit Speculators – for Feb. 16, 2009
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Chicago Board of Trade on Feb. 9 said it amended its rule change to limit cash grain delivery instruments held by non-grain firms, its latest efforts to quell industry criticism for its longtime benchmark wheat contract. The proposal, which has yet to receive regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would give nongrain […] Read more
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