Chicago/Geneva | Reuters — Canada wants the United States to explain why its lawmakers have made an additional $30 billion available to support U.S. farmers hit by trade woes, and how Washington might distribute the money, according to a document published by the World Trade Organization on Thursday. The questions come amid growing trade tensions […] Read more
Canada to U.S.: Explain that farm spending war chest
Trade rows spell gain, and pain, for U.S. grain exporters
Chicago | Reuters — Global grain marketers have seized upon trade tensions between the United States and several of its top export markets, including China, to turn around struggling trading units following one of the toughest years ever for the industry. After five years of bumper harvests worldwide that depressed crop prices, trading margins are […] Read more
Steel tariff shrapnel hits U.S. farmers
Kane County, Ill. | Reuters — Lucas Strom, who runs a century-old family farm in rural Illinois, canceled an order to buy a new US$71,000 grain bin last month — after the seller raised the price five per cent in a day. The reason: steel prices jumped right after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs. […] Read more
China says U.S. soybeans ‘prime target’ over tariffs
Chicago | Reuters –– Chinese officials have said U.S. soybeans are a prime target for retaliation against tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports, according to the American Soybean Association. Farm groups have long feared that China, which imports more than a third of all U.S. soybeans, could slow their purchases […] Read more
Bunge board backs management after earnings miss, CEO says
Chicago | Reuters — Agricultural merchant Bunge reported a worse-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, the latest in a string of poor results that has left the company’s management fending off takeover bids from rivals. Several years of abundant grains supply on global markets have made it tough for Bunge and its rivals […] Read more
From sugar mills to hog farms, U.S. agriculture braces for Irma
Chicago/New York | Reuters — Hurricane Irma sent farmers and food companies scrambling to protect processing facilities, farm fields and animal herds in the south and southeastern parts of the U.S. on Wednesday. Florida sugar and citrus processors rushed to secure rail cars and equipment that could be crushed, blocked or turned into flying projectiles. […] Read more
Trump budget plan cuts USDA food, rural water funding
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed halting funding for rural clean water initiatives and reducing county-level staff, for a 21 per cent drop in discretionary spending at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to a White House budget document. The $4.7 billion in cuts would leave USDA with a budget of […] Read more
As Trump meets biotech CEOs, farm advisers fret over empty USDA spot
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has left the agriculture secretary as the last department head to be named to his cabinet, while a meeting with the chief executives of two agribusiness giants gave a hint at a roster of farm issues the incoming president will face. Trump met on Wednesday with the […] Read more
Monsanto swings to profit on South American demand
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto, in the process of being bought by Germany’s Bayer for US$66 billion, swung to a quarterly profit, helped by higher demand from South America. Sales of soybe2an seeds and traits jumped 37 per cent as more farmers in South America sowed the company’s genetically modified […] Read more
U.S. EPA says glyphosate likely not carcinogenic
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said its current position on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is that the chemical is not likely carcinogenic to humans. The agency’s “proposed” position on the controversial chemical was outlined in a 227-page paper it published on the regulations.gov website, which […] Read more
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