CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies as global demand offsets virus worries

USDA confirms China buys U.S. soybeans

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. and European wheat futures jumped on Thursday as a series of import tenders and fears of rain damage to Australia’s harvest overshadowed concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus variant. Soybean and corn futures also advanced at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Global demand for wheat put renewed

A worker inspects soybeans during the soy harvest near the town of Campos Lindos, Brazil, February 18, 2018.

Global crop production picture improves

Big U.S., Brazil harvests and slowing China demand ease some crop shortage fears

Big U.S. harvests, near-perfect weather for planting in Brazil and signs of slowing purchases by top buyer China are bolstering supplies of two of the top globally traded commodities: soy and corn. The rising stocks indicate that prices for those key crops, as well as for other staples such as sugar and coffee, may have



CBOT December 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with K.C. December 2021 wheat (orange line) and MGEX December 2021 wheat (green line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat down off nine-year high

Chicago corn, soybeans also weak

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Tuesday on a profit-taking setback, with the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract sagging 1.9 per cent from the nine-year high it hit on Monday. Corn and soybean futures also were lower, but the declines were kept in check by signs of


File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

China proposes new rules to ease GMO approvals

Leadership seeks 'turnaround' in seed sector

Beijing | Reuters — China is planning changes to its seed regulations that will make it easier to approve genetically modified crops, a move seen as a critical step toward commercializing GM corn. The ministry of agriculture and rural affairs published a draft document late on Friday proposing a series of amendments to several different

CBOT January 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and December 2021 soymeal (black line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans climb as soymeal surges

U.S. wheat nears nine-year top

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose about two per cent on Friday, led by soaring soymeal futures tied to technical buying, brisk demand for the high-protein feed ingredient and logistical hurdles, traders said. Corn and wheat futures followed the higher trend, supported by tightening global grain supplies and fund-driven buying, and U.S. wheat


A Western blot analysis, used to detect specific proteins in tissue samples, is used to confirm BSE in cattle. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Brazil plays down BSE risk in suspect cases in people

Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro | Reuters — Brazil’s agriculture ministry said that two cases reported on Thursday of a neurodegenerative disorder in patients in Rio de Janeiro state were not related to beef consumption, tamping down fears of possible BSE causing human illness. Federal biomedical institute Fiocruz, which is investigating the possibility of bovine spongiform

File photo of containers at a seaport in Jakarta. (Leolintang/iStock/Getty Images)

APEC ministers call for curbs on farm, fuel, fishing subsidies

Washington/Wellington | Reuters — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers on Tuesday pledged to sustain the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic while pursuing talks to curb subsidies for fisheries and agriculture at a forthcoming World Trade Organization meeting. The ministers from the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries said in a communique issued after


CME December 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle at two-month high on strong beef demand

December hogs follow pork lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures reached a two-month high on Monday amid expectations for solid demand for beef, traders said. Gains in cash cattle prices last week helped support futures, traders said. Meat packers killed an estimated 121,000 cattle at U.S. slaughtering plants on Monday, unchanged from a week ago,