Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods said Monday it would buy control of Kansas City-based National Beef Packing for US$969 million, in a deal that would make it the world’s No. 2 beef processor. Marfrig also said it was seeking to sell an existing U.S. unit, Keystone Food. The proceeds will be […] Read more
Marfrig to buy control of U.S.-based National Beef
Coffee may profit more than soy in Brazil’s new farming frontier
Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Brazil | Reuters –– Farmers tending vast, flat soy and cotton fields that spread as far as the eye can see in northeastern Brazil are finding that coffee crops might provide higher profits in the country’s agricultural frontier. More coffee farms are being developed in the western part of Bahia state, which […] Read more
Brazil cracking down on unmonitored agriculture planes
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian federal prosecutors have demanded civil aviation authorities change regulations to increase oversight of agriculture airplanes such as crop dusters, which they claim can be used to smuggle drugs and agro-chemicals. Prosecutors are calling for the mandatory introduction of a transponder equipment to monitor such planes, and have suggested new […] Read more
Brazilian grain growers explore increased use of Panama Canal
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian farmers in top soy state Mato Grosso signed a memorandum of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority to evaluate ways to cut transportation costs and boost Brazilian grain volumes using the waterway, the authority’s chief administrator said. The canal’s administration is looking to increase its participation in rising Brazilian […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy tumbles on acreage outlook
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures tumbled on Wednesday, pressured by technical selling and outlooks for record-large U.S. plantings this year, traders and analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures dropped 16-1/2 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to $10.32-1/4 per bushel (all figures US$). Prices accelerated declines at late-morning after advisory service […] Read more
Ex-JBS chairman released from jail
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian federal court on Friday granted the release from jail of Joesley Batista, former chairman of the world’s biggest meatpacker, JBS SA, according to court documents. Joesley Batista, who steered JBS from a Brazilian beef processing firm to a global food conglomerate with major U.S. operations, was expected to be […] Read more
Trade bloc Mercosur, Canada launch talks for trade deal
Asuncion| Reuters — South American trade bloc Mercosur formally launched discussions for a trade deal with Canada on Friday, in a move officials said would signal an embrace of free trade at a time other countries are moving toward protectionist policies. For Canada, the talks with the group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: USDA report sways soy, corn
CNS Canada — Thursday’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture caused a stir in corn and soybean markets on the Chicago Board of Trade. “The Brazil and Argentine numbers (were) really not too terribly exciting. And the world numbers (were) basically kind of going exactly the opposite […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans retreat on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures eased on Monday for the first time in five sessions as profit-taking undercut earlier support stemming from weather forecasts suggesting little rain in drought-hit Argentina, the world’s third-largest exporter. Corn ended higher on concerns about a shrinking crop in Argentina, the world’s No. 3 supplier. Wheat futures jumped […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Soy faces bullish charts, bearish fundamentals
CNS Canada — Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade posted solid gains over the past month on the back of weather concerns in Argentina. While there’s more room to the upside from a technical standpoint, the fundamentals are starting to become old news. “I think the Argentine story is a little bit exaggerated, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
