The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled its GMO labeling law laying out the minimum labeling requirements for food companies and retailers set to go into effect at the start of 2020, with a mandatory compliance date set for the beginning of 2022. As part of the standard, the USDA has created a… Read More
The U.S. government announced details of its $12 billion trade aid package on Monday, including nearly $4.7 billion in direct payments to American farmers based on their 2018 production. Direct payments Initial payments will be available on corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, and wheat starting September 4. “Early on, the President instructed me, as… Read More
Soybean futures took a 42-cent tumble on Friday after the USDA surprised the market with a 51.6 bushel/acre yield estimate for the U.S. crop — approximately two bushels higher than the average trade guess. The projected yield increase translated into a record 785 million bushel carryout projection (up from the department’s 580 million bushel estimate in… Read More
The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report shows once again that the “wall” of cattle was not an unreasonable description. Thankfully, sustained consumer demand has helped greatly. The June report met expectations and further confirms what a bulk of analysts have been talking about the entire 2018 marketing year. Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock Exchange… Read More
Grain markets lost a fair amount in the second week of July and heightened geopolitical risk (read: trade war) and some decent-looking crops have negatively impacted grain prices. The latter factor was surmised by this week’s July 2018 WASDE report, which provided a reset of the goalposts when it comes to global agricultural supplies and… Read More
Grain markets had a very rough week heading into the middle of June, surrounded by trade uncertainty and positive crop conditions. In fact, forget about crop conditions. Or rainfall. Or heat units. Whether or not the borders are open for business has become the only fundamental factor that really seems to matter to the direction… Read More
Add over a million acres of spring wheat, and subtract more than two million acres of soybeans… There were a few surprises in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report published on Thursday. The department pegged soybean acres at 89.0 million acres — more than two million below the average trade estimate of 91.1 million,… Read More
A ‘good rotation’ is often thought of as a cropping plan that involves diverse species, cultivars, and chemical actives. But that definition may be expanding, thanks to an ever-evolving understanding of soil health. “When you look at that environment, you kind of come down to five principles on soil health,” says United States Department Agriculture… Read More
The USDA released its monthly World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) report today. Here’s a summary from Matthew Pot, author of Grain Perspectives: Corn: Corn futures increased by 3 cents today after the USDA threw a curve-ball by increasing corn yields well above the market expectations. The average trade estimates were between 169.7 and 169.9… Read More
Grain markets continue to shift lower as harvest pressures – namely better-than-expected yields. A stronger Canadian Loonie put pressure on cash prices on the northern side whereas the weaker U.S. dollar has helped offset harvest pressures a bit. For the week, corn lost 0.55% while soybeans gained 0.7%. Canola was just 0.2% lower while oats… Read More
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois on Wednesday, where he scrummed with the media and was pressed on the fact that there are mixed messages coming from the White House on trade. As Canada, the U.S. and Mexico head into round two of NAFTA talks this weekend, President… Read More
Grain markets sold off this past week as the USDA came out with a surprisingly bearish report of world agricultural supply and demand estimates. Instead of the roughly 166 bushel per acre US corn yield that market was expecting, the USDA came out with 169.5. That’s just a 1.2 bushel drop from the previous estimate… Read More
Grains pushed through the first full week of September with a mix of bearish and bullish headlines, but mostly of the latter as a weaker U.S. Dollar, wet weather, and decent export numbers being supportive. Corn was the shining star for the week, up 3.5% in Chicago, mainly supported by ethanol being up more than… Read More
They’re not splashing in the green pool or swinging from the parallel bars in Rio, but like their athletic compatriots, American farmers are breaking records. That’s if you believe the latest numbers from the US Department of Agriculture. The USDA issued its monthly supply/demand report on Friday. Here are some of the upsets/highlights: A 7.1 bushels/acre… Read More
The US Department of Agriculture confirmed another discovery of rogue genetically engineered wheat plants on Friday. A total of 22 volunteer GE plants were found by a farmer in an unplanted field in Washington State. The department says the plants contain the protein found in MON 71700, the glyphosate-resistant GE wheat developed by Monsanto. The… Read More