United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue held a press conference at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention this week in San Antonio, Texas, to talk about the U.S. government’s work on trade, dairy access, and more. As one of the biggest supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda, Secretary Purdue boasted about the… Read More
The USDA released its latest cattle on feed report for December 1, 2019. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totalled 12 million head, that’s up 2% year-over-year. Placements in feedlots during November totalled 2.09 million head, 5 per cent… Read More
With U.S. Democrats agreeing to changes on the USMCA, there is now a path for the agreement to seek ratification in all three countries. After the deal was announced, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Marie Claude Bibeau and USDA Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke about the agreement on the phone, with Bibeau later taking… Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture released its November 1 cattle-on-feed report, which saw results in line with pre-report expectations. Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, sums up the report below: “November 1 cattle-on-feed is up 1 per cent from last year at 11.8 million head. This is 7 per cent larger than the… Read More
Confirmation of what producers already know and a reminder of some of the upcoming obstacles has become evident in the latest USDA crop progress and condition report. U.S. corn conditions were reported at 58 per cent at good to excellent, versus the analysts projections of 57 per cent. This is a very slight improvement from… Read More
American President Donald Trump has authorized the department of agriculture to provide up to US$16 billion in assistance program payouts to American farmers. The announcement comes after President Trump directed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to create a relief strategy to support its farmers for the long-run as the country continues a trade war with China…. Read More
As farmers in the U.S. wait on the edge of their seats to learn how much each commodity will get for round two of the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), a source told two Bloomberg reporters that the Trump administration is eyeing $2 per bushel for soybeans. NEWS: Trump admin is preparing to announce another round… Read More
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will be implementing a surveillance plan in an effort to be prepared when it comes to African swine fever (ASF). The program will function in full force spring of 2019. ASF is a highly contagious and deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral (wild) pigs. It… Read More
In its monthly release of the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says world wheat supplies are up, along with coarse grain production, while the global oilseed supply and demand forecasts include increased production, lower exports, and increased stocks compared to last month. Also to note, the… Read More
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