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
Stories by P.J. Huffstutter
U.S. Midwest bankers see farm loan repayment problems hit 20-year high
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Midwest bankers reported that the percentage of farm loans their customers are having problems repaying hit a 20-year high in the second quarter this year, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Farm incomes also dropped for the period, as record floods devastated a wide […] Read more
U.S. Midwest farm incomes fall in second quarter in wake of record floods
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. farm incomes in the Midwest declined yet again in the second quarter of 2019, as record floods devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt, according to a banker survey released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Nearly two-thirds of the bankers surveyed said a majority 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
Canada to U.S. — Explain that $30 billion farm spending war chest
CHICAGO/GENEVA (Reuters) — Canada wants the United States to explain why its lawmakers have made an additional $30 billion available to support U.S. farmers hit by trade woes, and how Washington might distribute the money, according to a document published by the World Trade Organization May 31. The questions come amid growing trade tensions between […] 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
U.S. farmers tighten belts to compete with cheap LatAm grain
CHICAGO, Oct 26 (Reuters) – When Kansas farmer Tom Giessel drove over a deer carcass and punctured a tire on his combine during harvest this fall, he did not have the time or cash to fix it. He borrowed his neighbour’s tractor to finish. U.S. farmers are cutting costs any way they can to compete […] Read more
