CHICAGO (Reuters) – Farmers from North Dakota to Iowa buckled down for some of the coldest weather in a generation on Wednesday, throwing extra rations to pigs or building igloos for chickens in the teeth of sub-zero temperatures and bone-chilling winds. Some, like Kurt Line in Indiana, joked about the forecast. Line said he was […] Read more
Stories by Michael Hirtzer
Trade wars cost U.S., China billions of dollars each in 2018
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The U.S.-China trade war resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both sides in 2018, hitting industries including autos, technology and above all, agriculture. Broad pain from trade tariffs outlined by several economists shows that, while specialized industries including U.S. soybean crushing benefited from the dispute, it had an overall […] Read more
Lush soybean fields point to bumper harvest in central Illinois -tour
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Soybean plants in central and west-central Illinois, the top growing U.S. soy state, had abundant pods that pointed to a bumper harvest, scouts on an annual crop tour found on Wednesday. The corn crop in this part of Illinois, which trails only Iowa in corn production, also was above average although […] Read more
Drought to shrink Kansas wheat crop to smallest since 1989
MANHATTAN, Kan., May 3 (Reuters) – Drought sapped yield potential for the Kansas wheat crop and likely will result in the smallest harvest in the top wheat growing state since 1989, scouts said on the final day of a annual crop tour on Thursday. The crop shortfall could mean higher prices for wheat that would […] Read more
Wheat rises to seven-month high on low U.S. crop ratings
CHICAGO(Reuters) – U.S. wheat prices rose to roughly seven-month highs on Tuesday as low crop ratings and limited chances of rain in drought-hit parts of the Plains growing region kept attention on the risk of yield losses. The gains were fueled by U.S. Department of Agriculture data released late on Monday that rated the wheat […] Read more
U.S. pork demand strong, but trade disputes could hit exports
CHICAGO (Reuters) – American consumers are snapping up plentiful low-cost pork, but U.S. farmers are worried that trade spats with key export markets in China, Mexico and Canada could hurt a lucrative part of their pork business. The domestic demand outlook remains bright thanks to the strong U.S. economy, upcoming spring grilling season and Easter […] Read more
Cattle futures rise again on cash hopes, hogs widely mixed
CHICAGO, Nov 1 (Reuters) – U.S. live cattle futures bounded to life-of-contract highs for the third straight session on Wednesday, rising on expectations that beef packers will continue paying higher prices in Plains cash markets, traders said. About 1,500 cattle sold at the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange online auction at $120 per cwt, which was […] Read more
Cattle futures surge to contract highs on higher cash prices
CHICAGO, Oct 30 (Reuters) – U.S. live cattle and feeder cattle futures contracts surged to lifetime peaks on Monday, boosted by unexpectedly high-priced sales in cash cattle markets that occurred after the futures close on Friday, traders said. Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange surpassed Friday’s highs when trade resumed on Monday and some […] Read more
Hog futures at two-month high on pork packer demand; cattle eases
CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) – U.S. lean hog futures rose to a two-month high on Monday as cash prices extended their climb on strong demand from the expanded pork processing sector, traders and analysts said. Two new hog slaughterhouses that opened about a month ago in Iowa and Michigan have boosted hog demand while wholesale […] Read more
Hogs rise on stronger cash markets; cattle about flat
CHICAGO, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs climbed for the second straight session on Wednesday, buoyed by short-covering and rising cash hog prices, traders and analysts said. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures each were little-changed in relatively light-volume trading in livestock futures ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly grain […] Read more
