U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley speaks to reporters after a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Ag-state senator says Trump EPA ‘screwed us’ with biofuel waivers

Washington | Reuters — Iowa’s Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has “screwed” the U.S. ethanol industry and farmers by granting waivers to 31 small petroleum refineries, effectively exempting them from an obligation to use more ethanol in their products. The powerful senator, who represents the largest ethanol-producing state in […] Read more






(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

CBOT weekly outlook: Soybeans and corn watching weather, waiting on acreage numbers

MarketsFarm – Shifting weather forecasts and trade talk rumours should keep the soybean and corn markets at the Chicago Board of Trade on edge over the next few weeks, as participants wait on updated acreage numbers from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s August 12 report will include results of an acreage resurvey […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain prices softer ahead of harvest

MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices have softened ahead of harvesting season, due in part to improving growing conditions and a stronger Canadian dollar. Drought conditions earlier in the summer had threatened Prairie crop yields and buoyed feed grain prices, but the weather premium has subsided thanks to recent rains. “Rain showed us we’ll have a […] Read more



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U.S. refiners urge EPA to keep biofuel waiver requests secret from USDA

Washington | Reuters — A law firm representing small U.S. refineries has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to keep refiners’ applications for waivers from the nation’s biofuel policy secret from the Department of Agriculture, arguing that the petitions include confidential business information. The request, made by Perkins Coie in a letter to the EPA dated […] Read more