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ADM Q2 profit falls to 5-year low amid trade turmoil

Archer-Daniels-Midland posted its lowest second-quarter profit in five years on Tuesday as U.S. trade upheaval and uncertainty around biofuel policies slowed sales and crimped trading and crop processing margins.

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U.S. cattle ranchers slowly start to rebuild decimated herd

In major U.S. livestock regions, some ranchers have slowly begun taking the first steps to boost cattle production after the nation’s inventory shrank due to a years-long drought that dried up pasture land used for grazing and hiked feeding costs.


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Evolutionary origins of the potato revealed - and a tomato was involved

A new analysis of 450 genomes from cultivated potatoes and 56 genomes of wild potato species has revealed that the potato lineage originated through natural interbreeding between a wild tomato plant and a potato-like species in South America about 9 million years ago.




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‘Amber waves of grain’ recede in America’s heartland as wheat farmers struggle

The Great Plains have long been celebrated for the “amber waves of grain” in the popular hymn “America the Beautiful.” The region’s states produce most of the U.S.-grown crop of hard red winter wheat, favored by bakers for bread. But with prices hovering around $5 (C$6.86) per bushel, U.S. wheat farmers have reached an inflection point, with many forced to either lose money, feed wheat to cattle or kill off the crop.