CHICAGO (Reuters) — U.S. agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Co. on Tuesday reported higher quarterly earnings as a record-large U.S. harvest boosted grain volumes and supported strong exports, though revenue fell short of expectations. Earnings in agricultural services, ADM’s biggest business segment in terms of revenue, grew as bumper U.S. corn and soybean crops replenished thinned […] Read more
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ADM profit jumps as big U.S. harvest boosts ag services
China to give market bigger role in grains pricing, official says
BEIJING (Reuters) — China wants to give the market a bigger role in setting farm prices and move away from a controversial state stockpiling policy that has led to bulging grain inventories and a surge of cheap imports, a top agricultural official said on Tuesday. That policy, in which grains are bought at artificially high […] Read more
Cargill begins selling GMO Syngenta corn seed at centre of lawsuits
CHICAGO (Reuters) — Cargill Inc. has started selling a variety of genetically modified Syngenta AG corn seed that previously disrupted U.S. grain trading now that China has approved imports of the biotech crop. Cargill, one of the top U.S. grain exporters, began selling seed containing the Agrisure Viptera trait last month and scrapped a policy […] Read more
Obama proposes creation of stand-alone U.S. food safety agency
Feb 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed bringing together the country’s food safety operations into one agency to better monitor food quality in a move that would reshape the Food and Drug Administration. The proposal was put forward as part of the President’s 2016 budget plan. The new agency would combine the […] Read more
Rising oil doesn’t help crop futures
Crop futures prices were down a few cents Monday, regardless of strength in crude oil. Out of North America’s crop futures, only soybean oil rose, and that wasn’t enough to prevent canola futures falling two bucks per tonne for March to $451.40 and $2.10 for May to $447.30. While that represented less than half a […] Read more
Organic prices expected to remain high for years
GUELPH, Ont. — Record prices for organic grain and oilseeds could stick around for another five years, says an organic agriculture leader from Saskatchewan. Organic commodities hit unheard of highs in the last 24 months, with flax topping $35 per bushel and milling wheat exceeding $25 a bu. in Western Canada. Wally Hamm, general manager […] Read more
VIDO continues vaccine research in Kenya
University of Saskatchewan researchers will soon use $5 million in funding to test the effectiveness of newly developed vaccines to protect cattle against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in Kenya. Scientists from the university’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization will work together over the next 40 […] Read more
NASA satellite to measure water in Earth’s soil sent into orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan 31 (Reuters) – – An unmanned Delta 2 rocket lifted off from California on Saturday carrying a NASA satellite to measure moisture in the top layer of the Earth’s soil, data to be used in weather-forecasting and tracking of global climate change. Soil moisture is a variable that binds together all […] Read more
Aggressive herd expansion reverses shrinking U.S. cattle supply
By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Affordable feed and record-high spikes in cattle prices in 2014 encouraged ranchers to increase their herds at a faster pace than previously expected during the past year, analysts said in response to a government yearly cattle report on Friday. Expansion efforts by producers helped turnaround the seven-year […] Read more
Railways appalled at ag shippers’ critical report
Officials with Canadian Pacific Railway have raised a red flag over a recent report on rail performance commissioned by a coalition of agricultural shippers in Western Canada. On Jan. 27, the Ag Transport Coalition — comprised of producer groups and grain shippers — released a report suggesting that the country’s major railway companies are providing […] Read more
