Reuters — Monsanto, one of the world’s largest seed and agrichemical companies, said Wednesday that it was slashing 2,600 jobs and restructuring operations to cut costs in a slumping commodity market. The company, which said it expected low prices for agricultural products to squeeze results well into 2016, also reported a much wider quarterly loss […] Read more
Monsanto slashing 2,600 jobs, buying back shares as sales fall
CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soy rest on USDA report
CNS Canada –– The short-term fate of corn and soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rests on an upcoming supply and demand report, according to one analyst. Long-term, traders are watching global weather patterns, which could put crops at risk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release its monthly World Agricultural Supply […] Read 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
ICE weekly outlook: Canola looking overpriced
CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts moved lower in sympathy with CBOT soybeans during the week ended Wednesday, and could have more room to the downside as the Canadian oilseed remains overpriced compared to its U.S. counterpart. The canola premium compared to soybeans is the same now as earlier in the summer, when […] 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
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
Manitoba soybeans near harvest, weather permitting
Manitoba soybeans are edging closer to harvest, with southern fields just a week away, but rain, as always, poses a challenge to producers. Beans in southern Manitoba have ripened faster than other parts of the province, and will be ready to harvest by early next week, said Dennis Lange, farm production advisor with Manitoba Food, […] Read more
French court upholds Monsanto poisoning ruling
Lyon/Paris|Reuters — A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found liable in the chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso herbicide. The decision by an appeal court in Lyon confirmed the initial judgment, the first such case heard in court […] Read more
U.S. farmers unlikely to book sales off the combine this fall
Chicago | Reuters –– Cash market sales of corn and soybeans will probably be slow around the U.S. this fall as weakness in the futures market and crumbling basis levels have left prices well below growers’ targets and threatened profitability. But the downturn has not killed farmers’ hopes for a fall rally, even with expectations […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
