WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO (Reuters) – North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions in an unprecedented race against the COVID-19 virus that threatens to disrupt planting season. The timing could not be worse for farmers preparing to plant crops. Disruptions in deliveries of fertilizer, seeds or chemicals […] Read more
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U.S. under pressure to keep slaughterhouses open during virus outbreak
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to reassure meat producers it will keep slaughterhouses staffed with federal inspectors as fears about potential shutdowns due to the new coronavirus hammer livestock prices and fuel concerns about food supplies, meat industry groups said on early this week. Livestock markets have been hit hard […] Read more
U.S. says it will ban pig shipments if fatal hog virus is detected
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture said late last week it will prohibit shipments of all pigs for at least three days if the nation ever finds a case of a fatal hog disease that has ravaged China’s herd. The federal government is preparing to contain and eradicate African swine fever if it […] Read more
Hormel joins Tyson Foods, JBS in removing drug banned by China
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Spam-maker Hormel Foods Corp is eliminating a growth drug banned by China from its hog supply, the company said recently, joining rivals that are seeking to increase meat sales to Chinese buyers grappling with a pork shortage. Hormel will not accept any hogs that have been fed or exposed to the drug […] Read more
Bayer’s top seed faces U.S. soybean challenge from Corteva
CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba, (Reuters) – Bayer AG’s takeover of Monsanto has been beset by problems, and now a decades-long dominance of the $4 billion U.S. soybean seed market is under threat from rival Corteva Inc. Bayer told Reuters it expects plantings of its genetically modified Xtend soybean seeds to flatline this year for the first time, […] Read more
Coronavirus disrupts China meat imports, food supply during pork shortage
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Coronavirus is disrupting meat shipments to China as the country faces a shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, Tyson Foods Inc and U.S. agricultural groups said last week. An outbreak of African swine fever, which infects only pigs, has decimated China’s herd, pushing Chinese pork prices to record […] Read more
U.S. ag secretary unsure if coronavirus will slow China’s farm imports
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday he does not know whether China’s coronavirus outbreak will upset Beijing’s pledge to radically increase purchases of American farm goods as part of the countries’ recent trade deal. The virus has cast further doubt on China’s ability to buy $36.5 billion of U.S. agricultural […] Read more
Trump administration moves to remove 700,000 people from food stamps
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The Trump administration said on Wednesday it will make it harder for states to keep residents in the U.S. food stamp program in a move that is projected to end benefits for nearly 700,000 people. President Donald Trump has argued that many Americans receiving food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, […] Read more
China’s pork imports to peak in 2022, driven by fatal swine fever – report
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Global meat shippers have three years to make the most of the outbreak of a fatal pig disease in China before Chinese pork imports peak, according to a report released by the U.S. pork industry, which is competing for sales against Europe and South America. The forecast issued on Wednesday starts a […] Read more
Many U.S. farmers fume at Washington, not Trump, over biofuel, trade policies
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
