North Dakota spring wheat yield down as drought widens

Reuters – Spring wheat yields in North Dakota, the U.S.’s top-producing state, will exceed the five-year average but fall short of last year as farmers grapple with an expanding drought, scouts on an annual crop tour said July 25. The Wheat Quality Council tour predicted an average yield of 47.4 bushels per acre, compared to[...]

Drought forces ranchers to sell off their future

When rancher Dianne Riding strides across her brown pasture, sidestepping cracks and popping grasshoppers, she has less company than usual. Record-setting heat and sparse rain left Riding with too little grass or hay to feed her cattle near Lake Francis, Manitoba. She sold 51 head at auction in July, about 40 per cent of her[...]





U.S. grains: Rains in drought-hit Argentina pressure CBOT futures

Chicago | Reuters -- Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures slid on Monday after beneficial rains hit Argentina's drought-stricken agricultural zone, analysts said. Argentina is the world's leading exporter of processed soy, but its usually green Pampas plains have been hit by a historic drought that is preventing many farmers from planting their[...]

No poop for you: Manure supplies run short as fertilizer prices soar

Chicago | Reuters -- For nearly two decades, Abe Sandquist has used every marketing tool he can think of to sell the back end of a cow. Poop, after all, needs to go somewhere. The Midwestern entrepreneur has worked hard to woo farmers on its benefits for their crops. Now, facing a global shortage of[...]


Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

Chicago | Reuters -- With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant[...]

China buys U.S. soybeans after declaring ban on U.S. farm goods

Chicago | Reuters -- China snapped up a small volume of U.S. soybeans last week after pledging to halt purchases of U.S. farm products due to the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday. The world's largest soybean importer struck deals from Aug. 9 to 15 to[...]


U.S. grains: Soy, corn, wheat near one-month lows

Chicago | Reuters -- U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures approached one-month lows on Wednesday on worries over export demand and increasing competition for global sales. Traders were disappointed that there were no signs of additional sales of U.S. soybeans to China, the world's top importer of the oilseed, or of corn. China bought U.S.[...]

As U.S., Canada spar, farm hopes ride on two men in lobster boat

Reuters -- While Justin Trudeau vowed last week not to be pushed around and U.S. President Donald Trump called the Canadian prime minister "weak," two key officials in their governments with a seemingly harmonious relationship were making fishing plans. On Friday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the farm of Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay[...]