Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain farmers scrambled to find shelter for their crops and handlers hunted for alternative transportation routes, as widespread floods shut waterways from Illinois to Missouri and spurred a surge in physical prices of corn and soybeans. The sudden jump in prices could complicate a months-long stand-off between farmers who are […] Read more

U.S. grain prices soar as floods shut waterways, threaten crops

Flooding in U.S. Midwest threatens winter wheat
Chicago | Reuters — Heavy weekend storms caused flooding in parts of the southern U.S. Midwest, threatening the region’s soft red winter wheat, crop experts said on Monday. A swath of eastern Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and southern Illinois received 7.5 to 18 cm of rain with localized totals of up to 25 cm, MDA Weather […] Read more

H5N2 avian flu spreads down Mississippi flyway
Two more states whose migrating birds’ flight paths cross over much of the Prairies and Ontario now have outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian flu in commercial turkeys. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday expanded its restrictions on cross-border imports of U.S. birds, eggs and uncooked poultry products to include those from Missouri. The […] Read more

Cargill to shutter U.S. turkey plant
Reuters — Agricultural conglomerate Cargill said Friday it will shutter its turkey and cooked meats processing plant in Springfield, Mo., and move the operations to Nebraska City, Nebraska, and Waco, Texas. Cargill said it will close its Springfield plant, which employs 118 people, on March 11. The decision came about after Cargill assessed its turkey […] Read more