Chicago | Reuters — In a blow to manufacturers Monsanto and BASF, Arkansas state lawmakers voted on Friday to bar sprayings of a controversial weed killer after mid-April to protect farmers from potential crop damage. Arkansas will prohibit the use of herbicides based on dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31, the strictest state limits
Arkansas restricts dicamba for 2018
ADM reported making takeover approach to Bunge
Reuters — Top U.S. grains merchant Archer Daniels Midland has proposed a takeover of Bunge Ltd., the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, a move that could set up a battle for Bunge with London-based rival Glencore. Large grain traders which make money by buying, selling, storing, shipping and trading crops have struggled in recent
Rush on to reverse U.S. tax boon for ag co-ops
Chicago | Reuters — Republican U.S. senators are working with some of the world’s biggest agricultural merchants to undo a last-minute provision in the tax overhaul that threatens to distort the grains market and starve private firms of corn, soy and wheat supplies. It was included during final revisions of the tax bill that passed
Major U.S. grain firms fear harm from new tax law
Chicago | Reuters — The new U.S. tax law is poised to drive more control over the nation’s grain supply to farmer-owned co-operatives, provoking concern among ethanol producers and privately run grain handlers that they could be squeezed out of the competition to buy crops. Until now, the co-operatives, private companies and publicly traded firms
Half of U.S. soy exports to China would fall afoul of new rules
U.S. soybeans will likely become more expensive to ship to China as a result
Half of U.S. soybeans exported to China this year would not meet Chinese rules for routine delivery in 2018, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters, signalling new hurdles in the US$14-billion-a-year business. More stringent quality rules, which took effect on Jan. 1, could require additional processing of the U.S. oilseeds at Chinese ports to
CME Group expands private trades in grain markets, raising worries
Chicago | Reuters – Exchange operator CME Group Inc will allow a type of privately negotiated transaction in all its agricultural markets for the first time on Monday, splitting traders who predict the move will either improve or hurt transparency. CME Group, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,
Monsanto profit misses estimates as farmers face squeeze
Reuters – Monsanto Co reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday and said low crop prices hurting farmers’ incomes would limit the company’s ability to profit from sales of its genetically engineered seeds and agricultural chemicals. The outlook makes the world’s biggest seed company the latest agribusiness to detail ongoing pressures from large crop inventories that
Cargill profit falls as grain glut limits trading
Chicago | Reuters – Cargill Inc reported a 6 percent drop in quarterly profits on Wednesday as a global glut of grains limited trading opportunities for the food-commodities merchant. Four years of bumper grain and oilseeds harvests have squeezed profits for Cargill and main rivals Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Louis Dreyfus Corp
Wooden dams and river jams: U.S. strains to ship record grains
In a story familiar to Prairie farmers, the U.S. grain-handling system is creaking under a heavy load
America’s worst traffic jam this fall occurred on the Ohio River, where a line of about 50 miles of boats hauling grains and other products turned into a water-borne parking lot, as ship captains waited for the river to reopen. Such delays are worsening on the nation’s waterways, which are critical to commerce for the
Wendy’s to reduce antibiotic use in beef supply
Chicago | Reuters — Hamburger chain Wendy’s Co. laid out plans on Friday to trim the use of antibiotics that are important to human medicine from its beef supply, the latest step by a food company to fight concerns about resistance to the drugs in people. Starting in 2018, the company will buy about 15
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
