ROCHESTER, Minn./CHICAGO (Reuters) – American farmers helped elect President Donald Trump in 2016 on hopes he would shake up Washington and turn around a struggling agricultural economy, but many of his policies have actually stung farmers, notably his trade war with China and biofuel waivers for oil refiners. Many farmers are angry, and some are directing their anger […] Read more
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Trump trade-war aid sows frustration in farm country
ROCHESTER, Minn., (Reuters) – The U.S. government is paying Texas cotton farmer J. Walt Hagood $145 an acre for losses related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies. But Minnesota soybean farmer Betsy Jensen will get just $35 an acre. Both farmers’ sales have taken heavy blows in Trump’s trade war with China. Neither understands […] Read more
U.S. corn yields improving as crop tour reaches west-central Iowa
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa, (Reuters) – Corn yield potential showed signs of improvement across west-central Iowa, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Thursday, but the area was still expected to produce a below-average sized crop after extreme weather delayed planting this past spring. Soybeans were also looking better on the fourth and final day […] Read more
Farmer’s threat prompts USDA to pull staff from crop tour
HENRY COUNTY, Ill./CHICAGO, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat came over the phone from an angry farmer. Farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not […] Read more
North-Central Indiana could face smaller corn yields
DE WITT COUNTY, Ill., (Reuters) – Corn farmers in north-central Indiana could be facing smaller corn yield potential this year, after extreme weather and heavy rains delayed plantings across wide swaths of the U.S. Midwest, scouts on an annual tour said Tuesday. Many of the soy fields surveyed in Indiana on the second day of […] Read more
Oink, moo and brrr: Polar vortex strikes U.S. farm belt
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
China trade row sows confusion in farmer planting plans
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Tom Giessel is cutting back on plantings this year on his farm in central Kansas as he reckons with a drought, a glut in global grains supply and trade tensions between the United States and China. About 200 miles away in the northwestern part of the state, farmer Janet Bear swapped the […] Read more
Cargill has ‘significant concerns’ over U.S.-China trade strategy
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Cargill Inc. is concerned the White House’s strategy to address unfair trade practices with China will not work and could lead to an escalating trade war, according to prepared comments the global grain merchant sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The five-page letter, submitted on Friday and made public on Monday, […] Read more
South America, Europe footprint gives Bunge edge – CEO
CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bunge Ltd is able to withstand any global agricultural trade disruptions arising from U.S.-China tensions, thanks to its massive soybean processing capacity in South America and expansion in Europe, Chief Executive Soren Schroder said at an investor event in New York on Wednesday. While ongoing trade tensions are not good for […] Read more
Trade rows spell gain, and pain, for U.S. grain exporters
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Global grain marketers have seized upon trade tensions between the United States and several of its top export markets, including China, to turn around struggling trading units following one of the toughest years ever for the industry. After five years of bumper harvests worldwide that depressed crop prices, trading margins are on […] Read more
