Warsaw | Reuters — European Union measures to help farmers affected by a glut of Ukrainian food imports are too little too late, the Polish prime minister said on Friday, after the government approved 10 billion zlotys (C$3.23 billion) in aid for Polish agriculture. Central European countries are trying to thrash out a deal with […] Read more
Poland pledges aid for farmers as PM slams EU response
PM says EU offer a 'drop in the ocean'
USDA can steer farm aid money to fight climate change, Vilsack says
Reuters — The White House wants to tap a pool of funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) to support on-farm efforts to fight climate change, Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the USDA, said Tuesday. The Depression-era program of up to $30 billion in annual funding was tapped […] Read more
Hog farmers face prolonged pain as pandemic gives way to glut
Canadian Pork Council takes new tack on AgriStability reform
Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s hog farmers face prolonged pain beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that has interrupted packing plants , as a pig glut in the U.S. holds prices low and pressures producers to downsize. Many North American hogs had nowhere to go in spring as slaughter plants suspended production due to workers becoming […] Read more
No need for more U.S. farm aid after China deal, Perdue says
Austin | Reuters — With China poised to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods this year as part of a Phase One trade deal, the U.S. agriculture secretary said on Monday there is no need for a third year of trade-related aid for farmers. Farmers have increasingly relied on aid from the U.S. government to […] Read more
U.S. farmers expected to get third and final tranche of trade aid
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he expected the federal government to pay farmers a third and final tranche of 2019 trade aid a day after an initial deal with China was signed, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Washington and Beijing signed the Phase One pact on Wednesday, setting trade tensions between […] Read more
Trump trade-war aid sows frustration in farm country
Rochester, Minnesota | Reuters — The U.S. government is paying Texas cotton farmer J. Walt Hagood US$145 an acre for losses related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies. But Minnesota soybean farmer Betsy Jensen will get just US$35 an acre. Both farmers’ sales have taken heavy blows in Trump’s trade war with China. Neither […] Read more
On the front lines: Trade war sinks North Dakota soy growers
Colfax, N.D. | Reuters — North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state. The industry here — on the far northwestern edge of the U.S. farm belt, close to Pacific ports — spent millions on grain storage and rail-loading infrastructure while boosting plantings by five-fold in 20 years. Now, as […] Read more
USDA announces more farm aid to offset trade war losses
Washington | Reuters –– The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a US$16 billion farm aid package to offset losses from a 10-month trade war with China and said payment rates to farmers would be determined by where they farm rather than what crops they grow. The package, the bulk of which will be spent on […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn sinks as trade aid seen encouraging planting
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures dropped for the first time in nine sessions on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a farm aid package that could encourage farmers to plant more corn despite adverse weather this spring. Soybeans and wheat also declined as the USDA announced a $14.5 billion direct […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Trade volatile ahead of USDA announcement
MarketsFarm — The Chicago Board of Trade saw “a wild ride of volatility” on Wednesday, following rumours of a U.S. Department of Agriculture farm aid package that could top US$15 billion. The package would include payments of about $2 per bushel for soybeans and four cents per bushel for corn, according to Bloomberg. An official […] Read more
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