Villafale, Spain | Reuters — Brought to Spain on a special flight amid the coronavirus lockdown, some 250 Uruguayan sheep shearers race against time to shear millions of Spanish sheep as sweltering summer temperatures hit. The Uruguayan shearers come to Spain every year, where farmers value them for their skills, their speed and particular care […] Read more
Uruguayan shearers flown in to relieve sweltering Spanish sheep
Expert shearers authorized to enter country amid COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. grains: Wheat hits eight-month low as harvest advances
Soybeans gain on trade optimism; ethanol report supports corn
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures edged downward on Wednesday reaching an eight-month low as the U.S. harvest continues and rainfall across Europe allayed recent weather worries. Corn prices climbed after early losses, ending in positive territory on increased ethanol use, but capped by pressure from favourable weather across the U.S. Midwest, while soybeans […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn trims gains on technical selling
Wheat slides as harvests face decreased demand; soybeans drop on down meal market
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures ended slightly lower on Tuesday after a day of positive trading after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported decreased crop conditions due to recent hot weather across the western corn belt. Wheat slid as winter harvests continue, while soybeans remained lower as weak soymeal trade overwhelmed gains […] Read more
No timeline yet set for BRM reforms
Changes put on hold along with ministers' meeting
Ottawa — Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed any reforms to business risk management (BRM) programs are being delayed. That confirmation came during a wide-ranging media availability Bibeau held Tuesday. In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), said the government is looking at a number of options […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Attention on weather after short-covering rally in canola
MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts have recovered off of lows hit at the beginning of the month, with speculative short-covering a feature as attention in the markets turns to North American growing conditions. While canola ran into some resistance Wednesday, there may still be more room to the upside. Canadian canola is at a […] Read more
More ‘murder hornets’ found in B.C., Washington
Findings suggest some were able to overwinter
Reuters/Staff — Officials in British Columbia and Washington state have confirmed new sightings of the Asian giant hornet, dubbed the “murder hornet,” indicating the invasive, predatory insect survived the winter in the Vancouver area and U.S. Pacific Northwest. The stinging hornet, whose queens can grow as large as 2-1/2 inches in length, could potentially pose […] Read more
El Nino, La Nina patterns not seen prevailing during summer
London | Reuters — Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific remain neutral, meaning that neither El Niño nor La Niña weather patterns are prevailing, the U.N. World Meteorological Organisation said on Thursday. The El Niño pattern brings a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific every few years, and is […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, wheat up as weather, currency spark short-covering
Hong Kong row tempers hopes of China demand for U.S. soy
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures jumped on Thursday to a five-week high as a weaker dollar, forecasts for hotter, drier weather in the Midwest corn belt and a further rebound in ethanol production triggered bargain buying and short-covering by managed funds. Wheat futures also rallied on expanding dryness across the Plains wheat belt […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on slowed planting progress
Wheat rangebound as Northern Hemisphere weather watched
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Wednesday as a slowdown in plantings in the Midwest and forecasts for more disruptive weather lifted prices to two-week highs, although technical selling kept a lid on gains. Corn also edged higher after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported slower-than-anticipated planting in a weekly crop […] Read more
EU plans to halve pesticide use, expand organic farming
Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said on Wednesday it planned to increase organic farming and cut agricultural chemical use to protect the environment, proposals welcomed by green groups but which farmers said would make them less flexible. Agriculture is a contributor to climate change – producing around 10 per cent of EU greenhouse […] Read more
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