Latest Newsletter

Tag Archives u.s. department of agriculture — page 2

Ontario wheat harvest should be underway in late July.
Markets, Markets/Business

Tight Ontario crop supplies to keep local demand strong

Low corn stocks and fewer wheat acres with quality concerns should support local prices

By
Corn and soybean markets continue to digest growing conditions on both sides of the border. Ontario received 40 per cent to 60 per cent of normal precipitation from June 15 through July 14. Crop conditions have improved after a very wet spring, therefore, most producers are projecting average type yields. Our contacts in Ontario believe […] Read more
The U.S. pork industry’s lifeline has roots in global marketing efforts that began more than a decade before the current U.S- China trade dispute.
Markets, News

U.S. hog farmers benefit from diverse markets

They were significantly less affected by declining Chinese market access than soybean or sorghum farmers

By
Reuters – U.S. hog farmers lost hundreds of millions of dollars in export sales to China and Mexico after President Donald Trump launched his trade wars last year. But the sector has largely offset those massive losses by cobbling together new customers in smaller markets from Colombia to Vietnam, according a Reuters analysis of data […] Read more
A grain storage bin near Pacific Junction, Iowa burst during this spring’s flooding.
News

U.S. fund managers adjust investment advice in light of extreme weather events

It’s a tricky business modelling how weather will affect farmers’ spending

By
New York | Reuters – After historic floods devastated Midwestern U.S. agricultural states this spring, some fund managers are evaluating how changes in weather and climate will affect the long-term value of companies that make or sell products ranging from tractors to fertilizer. The issue is not simply the unpredictability of weather. Instead, fund managers […] Read more
Corn in a Waksman Institute of Microbiology field in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Crops, News

Pollen genes mutate naturally in only some strains of corn

Science notes: Breeders have reported some lines are more genetically stable than others

By
Pollen genes mutate naturally in only some strains of corn, according to Rutgers-led research that may lead to better breeding of corn and other crops. Scientists at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Montclair State University looked at gene mutations that arise spontaneously in corn plant pollen. Pollen grains are the male gametes, or reproductive cells, in […] Read more
Organic soybeans are mostly moving around the world for animal feed.
Crops, News

Replacing U.S. imports of organic soybeans unlikely

The rapid growth of U.S. organic livestock production has resulted in massive imports of soymeal

By
American organic soybean imports, especially as meal, continue to dwarf import of other organic crops. In fact, if American farmers tried to grow that many soybeans to make into meal, it could disrupt the whole organic system, says Ryan Koory, senior analyst with Mercaris, an American organic market intelligence company. Why it matters: Organic production […] Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the National Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th convention in New Orleans, Louisiana on 
Jan. 14, 2019.
Uncategorized

Trump defends tough trade policies to farmers, vows fair deal with China

Speech was short on details as farmers struggle because of the trade war and government shutdown

By ,
New Orleans | Reuters – United States President Donald Trump defended his tough trade policies in front of thousands of farmers Jan. 14, a key constituency that has struggled because of his trade war with China. He promised fair trade deals that will put America’s rural heartland back on its feet. “We’ve taken the toughest […] Read more
An aerial view of the port of Rosario, Argentina, on the shore of the Parana River. The grains hub has been receiving shipments of U.S. soybeans as a trade war has disrupted the rational flow of products.
Business, News

U.S. farmers fret as Chinese soy purchases move elsewhere

Strange trade flows — U.S. beans to Argentina, Argentine beans to China, Argentine beef to the U.S.

By ,
Reuters – A ship named the Torrent recently reached the end of a 5,000-mile trip carrying soybeans from the U.S. Great Lakes to Argentina — a journey that only makes economic sense because of the U.S.-China trade war. The ship docked in the Rosario grains hub on Dec. 4, days after the leaders of the […] Read more
(USDA.gov via Flickr)
Crops

Trump leaning toward Georgia ex-governor to lead USDA

By
Washington | Reuters — Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is U.S. Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s leading candidate to run the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a senior Trump transition team official said on Monday. Perdue, a Democrat-turned-Republican who founded a grain and fertilizer business, served on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. The official […] Read more
(USDA.gov via Flickr)
Crops, Markets

USDA sees bumper corn, soy crops despite floods

By
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. corn and soybean harvests were pegged above expectations this year as strong yields in areas west of the Mississippi River will make up for problems caused by excessive rains in eastern production states, the government said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast the 2015-16 soybean harvest at 3.916 billion […] Read more
(USDA.gov via Flickr)
Livestock

U.S. ag secretary orders update of agency’s animal welfare research strategy

By
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has directed agency staff to create and deliver an updated animal welfare strategy plan within 60 days, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters. The emailed memo from Chavonda Jacobs-Young, head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, was sent to all Animal […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast