Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures dropped two per cent on Thursday, the steepest decline in 2-1/2 months, on profit-taking tied to lower veg oil prices and extended weather outlooks for rainfall in Argentina, traders and analysts said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the nation’s Environmental […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans down on profit-taking before USDA data
India acts to help farmers hit by black money crackdown
New Delhi | Reuters –– India’s government on Thursday announced immediate steps to ease a cash crunch for farmers amid widespread criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock decision to withdraw high-value bills in the middle of the sowing and wedding season. Farmers have been left stranded as traders have no cash to pay for […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures follow cash market lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell 1.9 per cent to a one-week low Friday morning on reports of big harvest yields and heavy farmer sales on the cash market, traders said. Wheat futures weakened as traders said ample global supplies were likely to blunt the impact of India’s decision to slash its import […] Read more
Unpredictable lentil crops could unsettle market
CNS Canada — Lentil producers have been stuck on a roller coaster this season, and the ride isn’t slowing down going into harvest. “It’s been a very hard year to predict because we have record amounts of acres planted, an incredible start to the season, and then of course the well-publicized weather problems leading to […] Read more
India inactive in Canadian chickpeas ahead of harvest
CNS Canada — The Canadian chickpea market is in a transitionary phase ahead of harvest, one market participant says, as a key player sits out. “We’re still kind of in that phase where there’s a lot of orders trying to get filled, positions trying to get squared,” said David Newman of Commodious Trading near Victoria. […] Read more
Wet wheat weather watched worldwide
CNS Canada — Generous rainfall has benefited but also boosted the risk of disease on wheat crops in much of Canada and the U.S., and has also cut into grain quality in parts of Europe. However, according to Drew Lerner of U.S. forecast agency World Weather Inc., conditions during the harvest season will be the […] Read more
Flax industry fighting to regain lost acres
CNS Canada — After losing ground to pulses this year, a flax industry group is working on ways to be competitive going forward. “It’s the year of the pulses, and certainly growers are taking advantage of good prices for pulses,” said Don Kerr, president at the Flax Council of Canada, referring to the United Nations […] Read more
India might extend wheat import tax beyond March
New Delhi | Reuters — India is likely to extend a wheat import tax beyond March to shield its domestic farmers from cheap imports, particularly as wheat from the new-season harvest will become available by the end of this month, government sources said Monday. After consulting the food, farm and trade ministries, the finance ministry […] Read more
India, Middle East countries in talks on oil-for-food scheme
New Delhi | Reuters — India is in talks with some Gulf nations to buy oil to fill its strategic reserves and sell food in return, seeking to use its position as the world’s third-largest oil importer to both secure energy supplies and boost exports. Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters the idea was […] Read more
Monsanto threatens to exit India over GM royalty row
New Delhi | Reuters –– Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company, threatened to pull out of India on Friday if the government imposed a big cut in royalties that local firms pay for its genetically modified cotton seeds. Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India), a joint venture with India’s Mahyco, licenses a gene that produces its own […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
