Reuters – U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years in early September as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region. Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain inspections data, an early indicator of shipments abroad, […] Read more

U.S. grain exports sink as Gulf terminals struggle to recover from Hurricane Ida

U.S. livestock: CME hogs rise, live cattle slip ahead of USDA reports
Cattle on feed top trade estimates
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures climbed on Friday, largely supported by positioning ahead of a key hog inventory report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) after the close, analysts said. Higher cash pork prices and the still-wide discount of futures to cash hog prices were also supportive. […] Read more

Minnesota grain handler targeted in ransomware attack
Company instead issuing handwritten tickets for grain deliveries
Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota agricultural co-operative Crystal Valley said it had been targeted in a ransomware attack in recent days, making it the second Midwestern farm-services provider in a week to be forced to take systems offline due to cybersecurity incidents. Crystal Valley, which sells supplies like fertilizer to farmers and buys their crops, […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, soy jump despite rising harvest as oil, equities gain
Accelerating harvest amid dry U.S. forecast caps gains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rebounded on Wednesday from four sessions of declines in a technical and fund-buying bounce fueled by rising crude oil and equities markets, more than offsetting seasonal pressure from an accelerating U.S. harvest. Soybean and wheat futures also advanced as global economic jitters eased and the dollar weakened. The […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle end mixed, hogs lower
Futures under pressure as equity markets slump
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended mixed on Monday as late-session bargain buying only partly offset pressure from adequate cattle supplies and global economic concerns that threatened to blunt demand for beef. “The cattle market can’t seem to catch a break. Boxed beef has been trending down and there are […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans slump with harvest pressure, equities, oil
Favourable weather boosting U.S. corn, soy harvests
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures retreated on Monday as harvesting accelerated across the Midwest farm belt and sinking energy and equities prices weighed on market sentiment. Benchmark November soybean futures touched their lowest point in nearly three months, while December corn fell for a third straight session and hit a one-week […] Read more

Some grain terminals restart after Ida as Nicholas rains arrive
Reuters — Another grain export terminal near Louisiana’s Gulf Coast shuttered for two weeks by Hurricane Ida restarted operations this week even as heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nicholas battered the region on Tuesday. Global grain trader Cargill said it had reopened its Westwego, La. grain export terminal and on Monday unloaded its first grain […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs rise, narrowing discount to cash market
Technical selling drags on live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed on Friday, led by the nearby October contract, in a technical and bargain-buying rally that narrowed the market’s sizeable discount to the exchange’s lean hog index, traders said. Actively traded October futures scaled to a 3-1/2 week peak and closed near its session high, […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans ease as Midwest’s rains seen boosting crop
CBOT December corn up, wheat down
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for a second straight session on Friday as rains were seen boosting harvest prospects in some dry areas of the Midwest farm belt. Wheat futures fell on profit-taking and spillover pressure from lower soybeans, although concerns about global supplies limited declines. Corn was lower much of the […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans rally as crop conditions drop, soyoil prices rise
Hot weather forecast for heart of Midwest farm belt
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rallied on Tuesday on eroding Midwest crop conditions and improving export demand, and as soyoil prices rose another three per cent amid further gains in crude oil markets. Corn futures also climbed on deteriorating crop conditions across the heart of the farm belt. Wheat ended lower, though spillover […] Read more