D’Arce McMillan, The Western Producer markets editor, monitors trends in the North American and global agricultural markets. Each week he hosts a market video about crops. The video is designed to help viewers understand the forces responsible for changes in the trade. If agricultural markets are important to you, we have you covered. Crops: The […] Read more
News
Cash price caution drags CME live cattle futures lower
CHICAGO, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures slumped on Wednesday, weighed down by investor caution while waiting for the remainder of cash cattle to change hands, traders said. Spot December ended down 0.325 cent per lb to 119.975 cents, and February 0.550 cent lower at 124.925. So far, a few market-ready, […] Read more
U.S. Senate inches closer to repealing country-of-origin labelling
Canadian federal trade and agriculture ministers say they are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. Senate will repeal country-of-origin labelling as part of an omnibus appropriations bill now being considered. Speaking from World Trade Organization talks in Nairobi, trade minister Chrystia Freeland said she and other government officials are monitoring U.S. developments on the bill “hour […] Read more
Producers, shippers caught in midst of COOL fight
WINNIPEG (Reuters) — The North American spat pitting Canada and Mexico against the United States over meat labels has sown confusion among producers and shippers in all three countries, with a trade war potentially just weeks away. On Monday, the World Trade Organization authorized Canada and Mexico, the biggest markets for exported U.S. goods, to […] Read more
Doomsday Arctic seed vault to receive two deposits in 2016
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) — Two new consignments of crop seeds will be deposited next year in the “doomsday vault” built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global supplies. The vault, which opened on the Svalbard archipelago between Norway and the North Pole in 2008, is designed to protect crop seeds against the worst cataclysms of […] Read more
U.S. hogs fed pig remains, manure to fend off deadly virus return
(Reuters) — Animal nutritionist John Goihl knows Minnesota farmers who feed the remains of dead baby pigs to hogs used for breeding in attempts to ward off infections of a deadly virus in offspring. In Oklahoma, farm workers are mixing manure from hogs sick with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus into the food of healthy animals […] Read more
USDA to tighten regulation of biotech wheat trials
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will tighten regulations next month for field trials of genetically modified wheat. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it will require developers to apply for a permit for field trials involving GM wheat planted on or after Jan. 1. Since 1997, such trials […] Read more
China’s 2015 grain output rises 2.4 percent
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s total grain output rose by 2.4 percent in 2015 to 621 million tonnes from last year, the country’s statistics bureau said on Tuesday. The combined output of grains including rice, corn and wheat increased 2.7 percent to 572 million tonnes, it said. The corn crop came to 224.6 million tonnes, […] Read more
Growing better canola starts with seeding rates
Before Dan Orchard shifted his concentration to clubroot, he was an expert on canola fertility. The Canola Council of Canada plant scientist now has expertise in both aspects of the crop, and he recently attended the Farming Smarter conference to talk about how to attain “colossal canola.” It begins with seeding rates. Orchard said growers […] Read more
CME live cattle futures retreat with beef quotes
CHICAGO, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures suffered sizable losses on Monday, with slumping wholesale beef values increasing the possibly of further cash price weakness ahead, traders said. Spot December ended down 1.925 cents per lb to 119.525 cents, and February 1.850 cents lower at 124.400. The Monday morning wholesale choice […] Read more
