News & Opinion — page 2

Colfax, N.D. | Reuters — North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state. The industry here — on the far northwestern edge of the U.S. farm belt, close to Pacific ports — spent millions on grain storage and rail-loading infrastructure while boosting plantings by five-fold in 20 years. Now, as […] Read more

Ottawa | Reuters — The European Union will halt imports of Canadian cherries and other fresh fruits starting Sept. 1 as it enforces new import requirements related to pests, according to a Canadian government document sent to industry on Thursday. In the notice, which was seen by Reuters, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the […] Read more

Brasilia/Sao Paulo | Reuters — Amid growing international criticism over wildfires raging through the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday admitted farmers could be illegally setting the rainforest alight but told foreign powers not to interfere. French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres both took to Twitter to express their […] Read more

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures inched higher on Thursday, stabilizing from three-month lows set a day earlier, supported by worries that cool weather could slow the maturity of the delayed U.S. crop, analysts said. Wheat rose on technical buying and better-than-expected weekly U.S. export sales. But soybean futures declined, retreating from early strength […] Read more

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures advanced for a fourth straight session on Thursday, led by the nearby August contract as robust profit margins for beef packers fueled expectations of strong demand for cash cattle, traders said. “Packers are just raking it in, so the incentive is there to ramp up […] Read more

Winnipeg/Paris | Reuters — Crop-scorching drought in Europe is providing Canadian canola farmers a timely new opportunity to move supplies that have piled up since China stopped buying this year. Rising European sales are taking some of the sting out of losing the Chinese market for Canadian farmers, although ICE canola futures prices are down […] Read more

What happens to the rest of Canada’s eight-year, $1.75 billion funding envelope to compensate its dairy farmers for other countries’ gains in market access is still up for discussion, according to the federal ag minister. In a statement Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Ottawa gets that Canadian dairy farmers want more direct payments beyond […] Read more

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 […] Read more