CHICAGO, Aug 9 (Reuters) – U.S. consumers grappling with soaring inflation face more pain from high beef prices as ranchers are reducing their cattle herds due to drought and lofty feed costs, a decision that will tighten livestock supplies for years, economists said. The decline in cattle numbers, combined with stiff costs for other production […] Read more
Stories by Tom Polansek
Heat, humidity kill at least 2,000 Kansas cattle, state says
CHICAGO, June 15 (Reuters) – Extreme heat and humidity killed thousands of cattle in Kansas in recent days, the state said, and sizzling temperatures continue to threaten livestock. The deaths add pain to the U.S. cattle industry as producers have reduced herds due to drought and grappled with feed costs that climbed as Russia’s invasion […] Read more
Chickens, tractors, grain silos destroyed by deadly U.S. tornadoes
CHICAGO, Dec 13 (Reuters) – A Deere & Co dealership and a Pilgrim’s Pride Corp chicken hatchery were destroyed when deadly tornadoes swept through Kentucky on Friday, while silos holding millions of bushels of corn suffered damage, the companies and the state’s agriculture commissioner said on Monday. At least 64 people, including six children, lost […] Read more
U.S. Senator Warren calls for probe of soaring poultry prices
CHICAGO, Nov 22 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday called on the Justice Department to open a broad investigation on the impact of price- fixing and consolidation in the poultry sector on consumers and farmers. The former Democratic presidential candidate also urged the department’s Antitrust Division to review “with suspicion” any large mergers […] Read more
CME cattle futures drop as fire closes JBS beef plant
CHICAGO, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell to their lowest prices since June on Monday on concerns that U.S. ranchers could temporarily lose a place to deliver their livestock for slaughter after a fire damaged a JBS USA beef plant. JBS, owned by Brazilian firm JBS SA, halted production at the […] Read more
Drought forces North American ranchers to sell off their future
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO, Sept 3 (Reuters) – When Canadian rancher Dianne Riding strides across her brown pasture, sidestepping cracks and popping grasshoppers, she has less company than usual. Record-setting heat and sparse rain left Riding with too little grass or hay to feed her cattle near Lake Francis, Manitoba. She sold 51 head at auction in […] Read more
Hurricane Ida damages Louisiana grain terminal, disrupts exports
CHICAGO, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Hurricane Ida damaged a grain export elevator owned by global grain trader Cargill Inc, and rival shipper CHS Inc warned on Monday its grain facility may lack power for weeks after the storm tore though the busiest U.S. grains port. Cargill said its Reserve, Louisiana, terminal, one of two the […] Read more
Stung by pandemic and JBS cyberattack, U.S. ranchers build new beef plants
CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) – U.S. cattle ranchers and investors are sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into new beef plants after temporary closures of massive slaughterhouses at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic left farmers with nowhere to send animals destined to be turned into meat. A cyberattack against the U.S. unit of Brazilian […] Read more
JBS workers returning as U.S. blames Russia over hack
WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, June 2 (Reuters) – JBS SA employees were returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company’s beef operations stopped following a ransomware attack. A posting on Facebook said JBS workers in Brooks, Alta., were also returning to work Wednesday. A notorious Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS […] Read more
North America farm suppliers race COVID-19 spread for planting season
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
