Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures spiked by their daily trading limit on Thursday to their highest since mid-2012 and corn futures touched eight-month peaks after Russian forces attacked Ukraine, exacerbating worries over global grain supplies. Soyoil futures notched an all-time high on concerns about global vegetable oil supplies amid conflict in the major […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat limit up after Russia invades Ukraine
Soyoil futures hit all-time high on vegoil supply concerns
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs tumble on profit-taking
Rising feed costs pressure cattle futures
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended down sharply on Wednesday in a profit-taking setback following seven sessions of gains that took actively-traded nearby months to contract highs. A bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cold storage report on Tuesday showed larger frozen pork supplies, including a 17 per cent month-over-month […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, soybeans touch nine-year peaks
Concerns about disrupted Black Sea region exports lift markets
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures climbed to a more than nine-year peak on Wednesday and corn notched a fresh eight-month high as escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions threatened to disrupt supplies from the key Black Sea grain-exporting region. Soybean futures rallied to a 9-1/2 year peak as the conflict also put Black Sea sunflower oil […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs rise again on tight supplies
Rough weather on Plains supports live cattle futures
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed to fresh highs on Tuesday in a seventh straight session of gains, lifted by strong domestic demand and tight supplies of hogs. Broader commodities market gains added support to hogs as concerns about a Russian invasion of Ukraine hammered equities markets and fueled worries […] Read more
U.S. grains: Rising Russia-Ukraine tensions stoke rallies
Most-active CBOT wheat books biggest daily jump in 3-1/2 years
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures surged six per cent on Tuesday in the steepest daily jump in 3-1/2 years while corn rallied three per cent on worries that an escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine could disrupt grain flows from the key Black Sea export region. Soybeans climbed to a […] Read more
Bayer rolling out short corn variety tolerant of weather extremes
Reuters — Global farm chemicals and seeds maker Bayer will launch a corn variety in the United States next year that it says will better tolerate heavy winds associated with climate change, estimating future sales in North America as high as one billion euros. The corn, which grows one-third shorter than current varieties, will be […] Read more
Farming for the climate
U.S. growers embrace cover crops while eyeing low-carbon future
Illinois farmer Jack McCormick planted 350 acres of barley and radishes last fall as part of an off-season crop that he does not intend to harvest. Instead, the crops will be killed with a herbicide before McCormick plants soybeans in the same soil. The barley and radishes will not be used for food, but Bayer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs up on tight supplies, good demand
April live cattle up, March feeder cattle lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose on Friday as tight hog supplies and strong demand fueled gains for the fifth time in six sessions. The market shrugged off negative technical signals following a lower close in actively traded April futures on Thursday after posting a contract high during the session. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans rise on South American crop shortfall
Corn, wheat also up
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures were steady to mostly higher on Friday near an eight-month peak as some traders pocketed profits from strong gains this week, but the market remained underpinned by concerns about weather-reduced yields in South America. Corn was also steady to firmer, while wheat futures rose in a short-covering and […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans climb on supply worries
Corn sinks as ethanol stocks swell
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to an eight-month peak on Wednesday as reduced South American harvest prospects and improving U.S. export demand lifted the market for a seventh straight session. Corn retreated as spread traders sold contracts and bought soybeans and rising ethanol stocks fuelled concerns about a slowdown in output of […] Read more
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