By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures marked a new high for a third straight session as tight supplies continued to drive up prices for market-ready hogs, traders said on Monday. Packers are finding it hard to buy hogs as the deadly Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) reduces the […] Read more
Stories by Reuters News Service
France bans Monsanto GM corn before seeding gets underway
PARIS (Reuters) — France’s agriculture ministry on Saturday banned the sale, use and cultivation of Monsanto’s MON 810 genetically modified corn, the only variety currently authorized in the European Union. The French government, which maintains that GM crops present environmental risks, has been trying to institute a new ban on GM corn after its highest […] Read more
CME live cattle futures rise with cash prices; hogs firm
By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, March 14 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Friday, boosted by short-covering following better-than-expected prices for market-ready or cash cattle, traders said. “Futures played catch up with cash prices after packers built up enough margin to push for supplies this week. Folks are watching the cutout to […] Read more
Winter rail traffic snarl jams ethanol plants, raises prices
CHICAGO/NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) – A winter-long traffic jam on U.S. railways is hampering transport of ethanol, forcing production cuts and ratcheting up prices in supply-deprived regions. The coldest winter in three decades has stalled locomotives, frozen track switches and delayed crews, causing snarls in Chicago and other major hubs across the continent and […] Read more
U.S. crop insurance reformers fume as farmers sign up for 2014
CHICAGO (Reuters) — U.S. farmers this week finalized their crop insurance plans for spring planting with critics of the government-subsidized program saying insurers are set up for a bonanza after passage of the new five-year farm bill last month. Farmers who sign up for crop insurance by March 15 won’t in fact enjoy the enhanced […] Read more
Smithfield halts hog kill at North Carolina plant due to hog virus
(Reuters) — Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork processor, suspended hog slaughter at its Tar Heel, North Carolina, plant on Friday because the spread of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has tightened hog supplies, industry sources said. The Tar Heel plant, the company’s largest pork processing facility, reduced its slaughter schedule this week to […] Read more
Canada, B.C. and Vancouver port announce plan to end labour dispute
TORONTO (Reuters) — The Canadian and British Columbia governments and Port Metro Vancouver announced late on Thursday a 14-point action plan to end a labour dispute at the country’s largest port. The plan ensured fair pay for truck drivers and also included measures to help cut wait times at container terminals, the group said, adding […] Read more
Scientists urge change to Europe’s GMO regulation
LONDON (Reuters) — Europe’s stringent regulation of genetically modified crops has no rational basis and should be revamped to allow countries who want to opt out and grow GM foods to do so, British scientific advisers said on Friday. In an advisory report requested by the government, the scientists said legislation on use within the […] Read more
South Korea culls over six percent of poultry to curb bird flu
SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea has culled over six percent of poultry in the country to curb a bird flu outbreak that has hit farms and migratory birds nationwide, government officials said on Friday. That brings the total number of farm birds slaughtered to 10.16 million, close to a record 10.2 million during an outbreak […] Read more
U.S. still weighing if genetically altered fish is safe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is still considering whether a proposed genetically engineered fish is safe for consumers, the agency’s top official said on Thursday. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said it was examining as many as 35,000 comments about the application on the salmon by Boston-based AquaBounty Technologies Inc., which applied […] Read more
