Chicago | Reuters –– Sandwich chain Subway will start serving antibiotic-free chicken and turkey at its U.S. restaurants next year, and within the next nine years will stop selling any meat from animals given antibiotics, the company said Tuesday. Rivals such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald’s have announced similar supply-chain shifts, adding pressure on […] Read more
Subway shifting all U.S. meat supplies to no antibiotics, ever
PEDv may have entered U.S. on ‘reusable’ feed bags
Chicago | Reuters — The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) that killed millions of U.S. pigs over the past two years may have entered the country on large bags typically used to transport feed and other bulk products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The report, dated Sept. 24 and released Wednesday, said the agency […] Read more
Starbucks to switch to all cage-free eggs by 2020
Chicago | Reuters — Starbucks will switch to using only eggs laid by cage-free chickens at its North American locations within five years, the company told Reuters on Thursday. The company said it has been steadily working on making the switch since it began buying cage-free eggs in 2008. The pledge follows similar moves by […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat futures jump as USDA cuts production outlook
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rebounded on Wednesday, after a government report showed that wheat production was less than traders had expected. Meanwhile, corn futures lost ground, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly grain stocks report showed that both corn and soybean supplies were plentiful and U.S. farmers are harvesting what is […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy gain as shorts hunt for cover
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn futures rebounded on Tuesday as traders covered short positions on concerns that the U.S. Agriculture Department would reduce its estimate for last year’s soybean crop. Wheat prices eased back, despite being bolstered earlier in the day by steadying equity and oil prices, and cooling concerns about the […] Read more
Monsanto, rivals eye next step after Syngenta deal collapse
Chicago | Reuters –– Monsanto, having ditched an audacious US$46 billion offer for Syngenta, may downshift to a humbler strategy of beefing up its crop protection portfolio through other acquisitions, partnerships and licensing agreements. The deal’s collapse leaves Monsanto, Syngenta and other agrochemical sector companies facing a bleak landscape of plummeting grain prices and farm […] Read more
Monsanto sweetens offer for Syngenta
New York/Chicago | Reuters — U.S.-based Monsanto sweetened its offer to buy Switzerland’s Syngenta, valuing the company at around US$47 billion as it tries to lure the Swiss firm to the negotiating table, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Monsanto, which wants to combine its world-leading seeds business with Syngenta’s own seeds […] Read more
U.S. grains: Futures slump on weather, China gloom
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. grain and soybean futures fell on Friday as investor jitters about China’s economy continued to cool confidence in commodity markets and early data from a recent industry crop tour showed strong yield potential in the western Corn Belt. Corn made a modest weekly gain after falling two per cent last […] Read more
USDA moves to build vaccine stockpile for bird flu return
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it has put out a request for proposals to help the nation’s veterinarians have access to bird flu vaccines for poultry this fall, in preparation for the potential return of the fast-spreading avian influenza virus. The agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog supplies, post-holiday slump cool CME futures
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures remained mostly sluggish on Monday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as traders wrestled with strengthening grain prices, tight supplies of market-ready cattle, and visions of a glut of hogs straining U.S. slaughterhouse capacity in the coming months. Livestock futures trading was relatively light on an historic day at […] Read more
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