Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget on Monday proposed a 15 per cent cut for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling its subsidies to farmers “overly generous” at a time when they are going through the worst crisis in decades because of depressed commodity prices and Trump’s trade tariffs. The Republican […] Read more
Tag Archives trade

Trump budget proposes steep subsidy cuts to U.S. farmers

U.S. grains: Soybeans lower on South America weather, trade jitters
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell about one per cent on Monday on improving crop weather in South America and worries about a looming March 1 deadline for a U.S.-China trade agreement, analysts said. Corn futures followed soybeans lower while wheat futures were mixed, with Chicago Board of Trade contracts edging higher. CBOT […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Tight supplies, good demand support barley
Solid demand, both domestically and internationally, coupled with tightening world supplies is keeping barley bids well supported in Western Canada and should lead to increased acres this spring. “The price of feed barley is staying historically high,” said Brian Otto, chair of the Barley Council of Canada, noting feed barley at Lethbridge was currently trading […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle fall as temperatures set to rise
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures eased on Monday, pressured by forecasts for better weather in the U.S. Plains following snowstorms and bitter cold in the past week, traders said. “The big thing in the cattle was a real clear message that we have a sharp increase in temperatures coming up in […] Read more

Canola trade on edge over China tensions
Canadian canola exports to China face some uncertainty as concerns mount that political tensions between the two countries could spill into trade. The back-and-forth tariff dispute between the U.S. and China, and resulting decline in Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, originally led to ideas that Canada would pick up some of the slack with increased […] Read more

Canadian negotiator said CUSMA deal had to be done
The Canadian negotiators received pressure to end supply management until late in the negotiations
Canadian agriculture negotiators were dealing with proposals from the United States that would end supply management into September, 2018, not long before the deal was eventually completed at the end of September. That goes against the assurances of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue while visiting Canada last summer that the Americans didn’t want an end […] Read more

Soybean stocks mean trade truce could result in little price movement
Likely further weakness in the Canadian dollar could mean export opportunities
Ontario soybean, corn and wheat yields were higher than expected on Statistics Canada’s November crop survey. Despite the larger-than-expected production, Ontario prices are slightly higher this month for all grains and oilseeds due to stronger export demand. Ontario exports of corn, soybeans and wheat continue to exceed year-ago levels as the Canadian dollar trades near […] Read more

Ag seen gaining on slightly weaker loonie in 2019
CNS Canada — Farm Credit Canada (FCC) predicts the Canadian dollar will spend the year around the 75-U.S. cent mark — slightly softer than last year’s average of 76. “We’re going to see volatility throughout the year obviously but when we look at that season, or the full year average, we’re looking for it to […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Trade news having little effect
CNS Canada — Even though news out of Beijing regarding the trade talks between the U.S. and China were reported as ending on a positive note Wednesday morning, one broker watching the Chicago Board of Trade didn’t see it having much effect on commodities. “The only thing that would be a real positive announcement would […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola steady heading into 2019
CNS Canada –– ICE Futures canola contracts held relatively rangebound during the week ended Wednesday, and should be expected to remain steady heading into the New Year barring outside political developments. “We’re in a doldrums environment,” said Mike Jubinville of ProFarmer Canada in Winnipeg. “The supply/demand fundamentals suggest this market is reasonably well supplied, with […] Read more