(Dave Bedard photo)

Monsanto surprises with adjusted profit as expenses drop

Reuters — U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto, which agreed last month to be bought by Germany’s Bayer for US$66 billion, reported a surprise adjusted profit, helped by a drop in expenses and higher corn seed volumes. Monsanto agreed in September to a sweetened $128-per-share offer from Bayer that, if approved by regulators, would create






(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill posts net profit on special gains; revenue down

Reuters — Global commodity trader Cargill on Wednesday said it turned in a quarterly net profit, boosted by special gains that offset poor results from trading and oilseed processing. Revenue for the privately held company declined for the eighth straight quarter. Minnesota-based Cargill reported net income of $15 million for the fourth quarter ended May

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soy rises to one-week high on export deals

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose to a one-week peak on Monday on strong export demand and drier-than-expected Midwest weather over the weekend, although forecasts for a bumper U.S. harvest this autumn limited gains. Corn futures edged higher on short covering following recent declines, while wheat prices were narrowly mixed. Some traders squared


(ADM.com)

ADM eyes ethanol asset sales as weak margins hit Q2

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain trader Archer Daniels Midland is pulling back in ethanol and exploring sales of its corn dry mills that produce the biofuel, the company said Thursday after reporting a lower second-quarter profit due partly to weak ethanol results. Chicago-based ADM, one of the world’s top ethanol makers, has made presentations

On the U.S. East Coast, home to some of the country’s biggest pork production, ships carrying UK feed wheat have been unloading volumes not seen in years.

Poor-quality world wheat headed for feed

Black Sea export shipments are discounted $25 a tonne to corn

Reuters — From the heart of the U.S. big farm belt to Colombia, Vietnam and Indonesia, livestock producers are snapping up wheat damaged by bad weather or low in protein, providing pigs and poultry with grain more often milled for making bread. The increased global purchases of cheap, poor-quality wheat for animal feed comes as a


DuPont’s headquarters in Delaware. (DuPont.com)

Monsanto, DuPont sign supply deal for dicamba

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. seed and agrochemical companies Monsanto and DuPont said on Thursday they have signed a multi-year supply agreement for the weed killer dicamba in the U.S. and Canada. Under the deal, whose terms were not disclosed, Monsanto will supply its farm seeds and chemicals rival with the herbicide, which will be

(Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium to buy Cargill’s U.S. ag retail business

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. grain trader Cargill has agreed to sell its ag retail business in the United States to crop input seller and distributor Agrium, the companies said Wednesday. Calgary-based Agrium, North America’s largest retail seller of crop inputs such as seed, fertilizer and pesticides, will acquire 18 ag retail locations in Nebraska,