(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soybeans down on profit-taking before USDA data

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures dropped two per cent on Thursday, the steepest decline in 2-1/2 months, on profit-taking tied to lower veg oil prices and extended weather outlooks for rainfall in Argentina, traders and analysts said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the nation’s Environmental […] Read more


(Lisa Guenther photo)

CBOT weekly outlook: Technicals trump recent support in soy

CNS Canada — Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade look technically bearish, one U.S. analyst says, but spec-longs may keep support in the market. Corn futures, meanwhile, are expected to continue in a rangebound trend. “Corn is still basically in a trading range; it doesn’t excite people. Beans, they’re all over the place,” […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Traders look to StatsCan, U.S. veg oil

CNS Canada — With questions about the size of Western Canada’s canola crop remaining, ICE Futures Canada traders are looking to an upcoming Statistics Canada report for indications on where to move next. Sharp advances in the Chicago Board of Trade soyoil market underpinned canola on the week, and investors are waiting to see if […] Read more



(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soyoil jumps on new U.S. biofuel targets

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soyoil futures surged nearly seven per cent on Wednesday after the U.S. government released final requirements for biofuel use for next year, analysts said. The strength in soyoil lifted soybeans, but CBOT wheat closed lower and corn was narrowly mixed, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and […] Read more

The Big River Resources ethanol plant at West Burlington, Iowa, about 120 km southwest of Davenport. (Steven Vaughn photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. ups biofuel requirements in win for Big Corn

New York | Reuters — The U.S. government on Wednesday announced finalized targets for biofuel use for next year, requiring that energy companies blend 19.28 billion gallons of renewables into the nation’s fuel supply. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a statement set the target for conventional biofuel, or ethanol, at 15 billion gallons and […] Read more

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. agency seeks proof of criminal use of dicamba

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency executed search warrants in parts of southeastern Missouri earlier this month to look for signs of improper use of the herbicide dicamba, the agency said on Tuesday. The searches stemmed from complaints that dicamba, which has only been approved for application on fields before planting season […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. EPA says glyphosate likely not carcinogenic

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said its current position on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is that the chemical is not likely carcinogenic to humans. The agency’s “proposed” position on the controversial chemical was outlined in a 227-page paper it published on the regulations.gov website, which […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Water Management Research Unit, ARS/USDA)

U.S. EPA draft report calls out atrazine for risk to animals

Chicago | Reuters — One of the most popular herbicides in U.S. agriculture can be dangerous to animals and fish and leaves behind worrisome residue levels, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday in a draft report that sparked outrage among farmers. The agency’s assessment of atrazine could lead to tighter regulatory limits on […] Read more