U.S. Election Means A Pinch On Farm Funds

U.S. lawmakers will face increasing pressure to constrain spending on farm subsidy programs, possibly as part of government-wide austerity, in the wake of large Republican gains in the midterm elections. At its most extreme, the budget cutting could push millions of acres back into production by slashing long-term reserves that idle 10 per cent of

USDA Issues Draft Plan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a draft proposal to again allow farmers to grow Monsanto Co.’s genetically modified sugar beets. A U.S. district court in California has ruled that the sugar beets cannot be produced until the USDA issues a full environmental impact study, which the department does not expect to complete until


USDA Issues Draft Plan Allowing GM Sugar Beets

The U.S. Depar tment of Agriculture issued a draft proposal on Nov. 2 to again allow farmers to grow Monsanto’s genetically modified sugar beets, which are fiercely opposed by environmentalists. A U.S. district court in California has ruled that the sugar beets cannot be produced until the USDA issues a full environmental impact study, which

U. S. Election To Take Toll On Farm Funding

U. S. lawmakers will face increasing pressure to constrain spending on farm subsidy programs after mid-term elections on Nov. 2, possibly as part of government- wide belt tightening. At its most extreme, the budget cutting could push millions of acres back into production by slashing long-term reserves that idle 10 per cent of U. S.


U. S. Offers Aid For Biofuel Production

The government is offering more than $1.5 billion in assistance, from field to filling station, to bring next-generation biofuels to market, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Oct. 21. Vilsack said the aid would assure renewable fuel consumption reaches 36 billion gallons by 2022, with the bulk of it coming from non-food sources such as grass,

Corn Prices Driven Higher By Record Speculative Longs

Co r n prices have rallied $2.50 per bushel, since the market stopped going down on June 29, 2010. Some of the buying is a result of hedgers locking in prices before the market goes higher. But to a larger degree, it is the large speculative buy orders that have driven prices to $5.73 per


CCIA Call Centre Hours Extended

The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) is extending its call centre customer service hours for the fall run effective Oct. 1 and ending Dec. 31. The new call centre hours will be Monday to Friday from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m. MST until the end of December. Customer support for the Canadian Livestock

U. S. Hog Herd Stays Small

USDA’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report Oct. 1 put the U. S. hog herd as of Sept. 1 at 64.991 million head, or 97.4 per cent of last year. That is the smallest September 1 hog herd since 2006. However, the smaller herd was expected as analysts, on average, had estimated it at 97.2 per


In Brief… – for Sep. 23, 2010

COOL hearing underway: Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Travis Toews said he is pleased with how the Canadian government presented its case against U. S. Country of Origin Labelling legislation before a WTO dispute settlement panel in Geneva, Switzerland last week. The U. S. did not challenge any of Canada’s economic evidence, but argued that these