U. S. grain handlers, already burdened with big wheat inventories, are bracing for a mammoth corn and soybean harvest across America’s heartland. Merchants will have to find room for 17 billion bushels of corn and soybeans – the largest U. S. harvest in history. A recent spike in U. S. exports after drought-stricken Russia announced
U. S. Grain Elevators Brace For Huge Harvest – for Sep. 16, 2010
Oil Spill Helps Biofuel Image
Renewable fuels like corn-based ethanol will get a boost as the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico feeds worries by Americans about long-term dependence on oil, a top U. S. private agricultural economist said on June 8. “The spill has heightened the concern about our dependence on fossil fuels so that quite naturally
Frustrated Chicago Wheat Traders Seen Testing MGE
Frustrated wheat traders who say the Chicago Board of Trade Soft Red Winter wheat contract is no longer an effective hedging tool appear to be testing the waters in a new market – the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Open interest in the MGE’s long-dormant, cash-settled Soft Red Winter Wheat Index futures has exploded over the last
Agribusiness Challenged To Solve World Problems
“We cannot go on the way we’re going and we need the food industry to say it first, when an industry doesn’t take these problems face on, it leads to disaster.” – JEFFREY SACHS Private agribusiness companies must lead the drive to sustainable agriculture if the world is going to succeed in winning the fight
Farm Technology Push Must Speed Up
Agriculture needs to increase productivity rapidly and expand in key farming areas like the Black Sea and Africa for world food needs to be met, J. B. Penn, chief economist at farm equipment maker John Deere said in an interview. “Regardless of the impact of climate change, we are going to have to produce a
Cargill CFO Sees Signs Of Economic Recovery
The chief financial officer of U. S. agribusiness giant and trading firm Cargill Inc. said Aug. 18 he sees signs that emerging economies were recovering and was cautiously optimistic about growth in the months ahead. “I think emerging markets continue to offer the best opportunities. That is where the economic activity is best right now,”
Grain Swaps Offer Hedgers Brave New World
Ready or not, here they come. After years of planning, the Chicago Board of Trade has introduced a new hedging tool for the world grain industry that differs significantly from its century-old futures markets, but promises to take the risk management game to a new level – once everyone gets on board. “So far my
Consumers Still Fret About Grain Prices
Uncertainty over U. S. spring plantings of corn and soybeans and recent weakness in the dollar have brought a resurgence in grain prices that spells fresh headaches for consumers and food makers this year. The commodities, at the base of a food chain that feeds into hundreds of supermarket products, from oils to starches to
CBOT’s New Limits On Non-Grain Players Approved
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Feb. 13 received U. S. government approval to limit cash grain delivery instruments held by non-grain firms – its latest move to cool criticism about the performance its grain contracts. CBOT’s regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), approved an amended Feb. 9 request to reduce the large
Will A World Wheat Contract Replace CBOT Futures?
“The market is going to take care of itself, the banking system will be back in order, the risk management of the grain companies will be back in order, and everybody is not going to be terrified.” – GLENN HOLLANDER Is the grain industry ready for a world wheat futures contract? A year-long campaign to
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
