A view of a farm partially submerged in floodwater at Scribner, Neb. on March 14, 2019, in a still image from video obtained from social media on March 19. (Video screengrab from Angie Lange via Reuters)

Livestock, pets among victims in U.S. Midwest flooding

Reuters — The floods that have devastated large swaths of Nebraska and Iowa since late last week left house pets homeless, inflicted an unknown toll on livestock and led to several daring water rescues of animals from dogs to horses. Rescuers in the Omaha area, where the Platte, Elkhorn and Missouri rivers began spilling over […] Read more

MGEX May 2019 spring wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat drift lower on weak export demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and wheat futures closed nearly unchanged on Tuesday, with commodity funds reluctant to add to a heavy net short position despite pressure from slowing export demand for U.S. grains, analysts said. Soybean futures declined as traders awaited news from ongoing U.S. trade negotiations with China, the world’s top soybean […] Read more

Nebraska State Police tweeted aerial footage on March 15, 2019 showing cattle stranded on tiny islands in floodwaters around Fremont, about 50 km northwest of Omaha. (Nebraska State Police photo via @NEStatePatrol on Twitter)

U.S. farm belt slammed by floods, heavy snow from bomb cyclone

Reuters — A harsh late-winter storm broadsided a vast swath of the U.S. agriculture industry this week as heavy snow closed roads and buried cattle in the Plains while excessive rain flooded Midwest fields and swamped grain elevators. A “bomb cyclone” hurled hurricane-force winds, sparked tornadoes and dumped heavy snow and rain across the Plains […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Costco plans chicken plant in Nebraska

Reuters — Costco Wholesale Corp. is considering building a poultry-processing plant in Nebraska, according to a local development council, a move that would give the retailer tighter control over its chicken supplies. The facility, if built in Nebraska’s Dodge County, would create 1,100 jobs, work with local chicken farmers and invest $180 million in the […] Read more

(Eggs.ca)

Bird flu outbreak hits Nebraska

Reuters — The fast-spreading avian flu virus was confirmed for the first time in Nebraska, at a commercial egg-laying farm that housed a flock of 1.7 million chickens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The case in Dixon County, Nebraska, brings the number of states affected by the outbreak to 16, and the […] Read more