CHICAGO, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Ranchers placed 1.93 million cattle in U.S. feedlots in August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, in a stronger-than-expected report likely to weigh on futures early next week. Cattle placements rose about 3 percent from August in 2016, USDA said. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a decline […] Read more
Markets
U.S. cattle placements spike in August, portending more beef in 2018
Market wrap: Canola rallies $5.70 on the week
Canola futures rose Friday with support from soybeans, which climbed on strong U.S. exports and concerns about South American weather. The cool, cloudy and sometimes wet weather that is interfering with harvest in a large part of the Prairies this week is now expected to continue into the early part of next week, according to […] Read more
Canada seen unlikely to walk away from NAFTA
OTTAWA, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Despite Canada’s threats to walk away from NAFTA talks if necessary, its limited success in diversifying exports leaves the nation too reliant on U.S. markets to play hardball, government insiders and trade experts say. Negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather in Ottawa on Saturday for the […] Read more
WTO investigates China-US row on grain import quotas
GENEVA, Sept 22 (Reuters) – A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel was set up on Friday to rule on a U.S. complaint over Chinese import quotas on farm goods including wheat, rice and corn, a trade official said. The panel on tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural products was automatically established as it was […] Read more
CME Oct hog futures fall to contract low on cash declines
CHICAGO, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange October lean hog futures fell sharply to a contract low on Thursday, weighed down by a months-long decline in cash prices and abundant supplies, traders said. Deferred hog futures contracts as well as most live cattle and feeder cattle contracts also eased on technical selling and profit-taking. […] Read more

Russian wheat output shocks markets
Russian wheat farmers have been partying this year, and the world market is likely to be nursing a hangover for two years, say analysts. The massive size of the Russian wheat crop not only pushes their grain exports to the limit for this year but will leave huge stockpiles for the 2018-19 crop year. “With […] Read more

Ample pea supply makes rally unlikely
Large pea crops in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea regions could prevent a fall price rally this year, says an analyst. Russia harvested 2.3 million tonnes of the crop, down from 2.6 million tonnes last year, according to Viktor Korobko, director of Veles-Agro Broker Ltd. in Odessa, Ukraine, and author of a weekly grain […] Read more

U.S. winter wheat plantings might be smaller
U.S. farmers planted the second smallest winter wheat crop in more than a century of recorded history last year. This year’s crop may be even smaller, according to executives of wheat groups in three states that account for half of the acres. “There is no market signal right now to increase wheat acres and until […] Read more
Chinese ethanol plan could shake up markets
China has announced ambitious plans to require a 10 percent ethanol blend in gasoline by 2020. This could be as big a factor in crop markets as the huge increase in U.S. ethanol production in the 2000s that helped to lift corn prices for years. It has the potential to bring massive changes in the […] Read more
WP livestock report
HOGS SHARPLY LOWER The opening of a new hog slaughter plant in Iowa is not yet helping the cash hog price. Hog supply is ample, even as U.S. slaughter for the week was up about 13 percent over last year at the same time. Average U.S. carcass weight was 211.64 pounds, up about two pounds […] Read more