News Updates KAZAKHSTAN AND IRAN Iran reportedly is very interested in importing grain from Kazakhstan and will build grain elevators to handle the Kazakh grain. There was also talk that Iran will be used as a conduit for Kazakh grain to other countries in the region, with Kazakh grain coming down the Caspian Sea to Iranian ports and then cross-country in Iran to export ports close to the Middle East. This certainly looks like a reasonable alternative to shipping out of the Black Sea, where -- one assumes -- transit times to the Middle East or Asia would be longer and freight costs higher.The Kazakh government has suggested that it might change the current grain export subsidies to a truck leasing program that would supply t...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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