Paris | Reuters — The large number of European countries opposing GMO cultivation may have given the impression the bloc is putting a brake on GMOs, but with new crops queuing for approval and key countries leaving the door open, output is more likely to grow than wane. Nineteen out of 28 EU member states […] Read more
Think Europe’s halting GMOs? It could be heading for more
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
CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soybeans feeling harvest pressure
CNS Canada — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn and soybean futures finished lower for the week ended Wednesday as the advancing harvest pressured already-low prices. The front-month soybean contract dropped to some of its lowest levels in more than six years. The rising strength of the U.S. dollar has made life difficult for U.S. exporters […] Read more
Storm suspected of carrying new corn disease into U.S.
Chicago | Reuters — A tropical storm could have carried the corn disease tar spot into the heart of the U.S. farm belt for the first time, as winds and rain blew in from Latin America, researchers told Reuters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of tar spot in at least four locations […] Read more
Manitoba corn growers warily eye moisture content
CNS Canada — While harvest is underway for most farmers across Western Canada, many corn growers are busy eyeing the moisture content in their plants. “I know of guys testing at 32 per cent (moisture content of the kernels). That’s abnormal for this time of year,” said Morgan Cott, an agronomist with the Manitoba Corn […] Read more
China to stockpile corn during 2015-16 at lower price
Beijing | Reuters — The Chinese government will continue its controversial corn stockpile policy during 2015-16 and will start to stock the grain from farmers at a lower price compared with last year, government bodies said in a statement late Friday. Beijing will pay 2,000 yuan (C$414) per tonne to farmers in the northeast, the […] Read more
Exporters fear Brazil agents’ strike could hurt corn exports
Sao Paulo | Reuters — A strike by Brazilian federal agricultural agents responsible for approving certificates required for shipments could affect Brazil’s corn exports, the director of the cereal exporters association Anec Sergio Mendes said Friday. Mendes said the strike that started on Thursday was “the worst thing that could happen” to grain exports, though […] Read more
France bolsters ban on genetically modified crops
Paris | Reuters — France is to use a new European opt-out scheme to ensure a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country remains in place, it said on Thursday. The European Union’s largest grain grower and exporter has asked the European Commission for France to be excluded from some GM […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soybeans moving on technical trading
CNS Canada –– Corn and soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) are mostly moving on technical trading, profit-taking and good harvest weather. “It’s a technical trade; the range may have moved up a little bit higher than what we had thought,” said Scott Capinegro, senior broker with Highground Trading Group. Soybeans saw […] Read more
USDA probes release of incorrect data that pressured crop prices
Chicago | Reuters — A U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) unit is reviewing its procedures after posting incorrect crop data online on Wednesday, an error that temporarily pressured grain prices. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) inadvertently issued the wrong data on crop acreage around 5 a.m. CT and posted corrected data four hours later. The agency […] Read more