Legislation has again been introduced in the U.S. Senate to consolidate food safety enforcement in the U.S., although the bill isn't moving anytime soon. C...

The overnight price weakness carried over into the day session with the strong U.S. dollar and China's weakening economy keeping prices under pressure. Gen...

India's declining soybean production and rising consumption have resulted in a steady growth of its vegoil imports in recent years, which Oil World has est...

The worst part about the current situation with Greece is uncertainty, but things are not that bleak or uncertain. Greece Known Knowns The worst part about...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Agricultural markets followed the financial and energy markets lower overnight and early today, but we started to see some significant separation once toda...

With no appropriations bills completed, Congress will be back in session tomorrow with 16 legislative days before the month-long August recess. It will the...

The Black Sea market was active last week as a significant volume of Russian wheat changed hands. A majority of the trades were between multinational tradi...

The very wet conditions across the eastern Corn Belt have caused other problems in addition to lost acres. Corn is or has been standing in water in many ar...

As the estimated soymeal inventories for China's major crushers showed a notable gain last week, the uptick in soybean shipment arrivals and higher utiliza...

A survey by the Pew Research Center on American opinions toward GMOs and pesticides indicates that if Big Ag was ever in the fight against its antagonists,...

A survey by the Pew Research Center on American opinions toward GMOs and pesticides indicates that if Big Ag was ever in the fight against its antagonists,...

The USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report released last Friday indicates the market hog inventory is up 9.4 percent, but that isn't a reliable benchmark due...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Prices swung in wide ranges on both sides before finishing with relatively small changes. Drawn by the rather dramatic change of market momentum this week,...

USDA's 30 June numbers were mildly bullish for corn and soybeans, and the persistent heavy rainfall over southern and eastern portions of the Midwest has p...

Most in the trade appear to have concluded that the lower soybean stocks noted in USDA's report on Tuesday indicate that it  overestimated the size of...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

A federal judge has just ruled that a county ban in Hawaii against the cultivation of GM crops is preempted by federal and state law. Such federal assertio...

Brazil and Argentina took advantage of this week's rise in CBOT contract prices. In comparison, U.S. soybeans are so expensive that there is even talk of s...

While the Ukrainian grain markets saw mostly stable domestic prices during 22-26 June 2015, feed wheat prices at the Ukrainian Black Sea (UBS) ports contin...

The CME announced that trading volume in its agricultural products set a record of about 2.857 million contracts yesterday. The day session today did not r...

The Egyptian government announced that it plans to update/repair all port discharge equipment. This is intended to significantly reduce the unloading time...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Following the release of today's USDA reports, there was a huge inflow of managed money into the grain and soy markets seeking to buy everything across the...

Today's USDA planted area report indicated U.S. farmers planted or intend to plant 85.139 million acres of soybeans, a greater number than USDA's Prospecti...

Increased refinery runs, based on growth in both capacity and utilization, have helped accommodate gains in U.S. crude oil production. That production aver...

Greece is teetering on a Grexit, Puerto Rico officially acknowledged that it lacks the funds to pay its creditors, the Middle East remains on fire and Chin...

These reports contained a few of the usual June surprises, mainly in the quarterly stocks numbers, and the grain and soy futures markets continued their hi...

Trading volume today was quite large with funds again very big players as the short covering in wheat and corn continued. Commercials were reported as heav...

These acreage estimates for corn and soybeans have also taken on more importance because we are starting to see some doubt expressed over the latest USDA y...

China's domestic corn prices fell last week because of sluggish demand from the deep corn processing industry. Meanwhile, the average cornstarch price did...

The EU's barley exports licenses for the current campaign total 3.3 MMT more than a year ago, which more or less corresponds to the increase in its imports...

There has been a spate of state and local regulations as well as proposed referenda on labeling of GM foods and crops. The hearing was intended to provide...

As lawsuits get filed against U.S. EPA's recent rule restricting agricultural (and other) impacts on waterways, some are hoping a separate ruling today by...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is adopting more stringent rules and procedures for domestic products, it is changing its me...

This is the second year of what could be a multi-year correction in farmland prices due to lower commodity prices, increasing interest rates and slower inv...

This has been a terrible harvest season for the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop with no end to the rain after three-four years of drought. The crop was mat...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Price action closed out this week in a dramatic manner that accurately reflects the increased uncertainty among a diverse group of traders. The greatest ch...

The current budget situation is only partially the result of the Republicans now controlling both houses of Congress. The White House says that the automat...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Nina Teicholz, author of New York Times bestseller The Big Fat Surprise, asserts that the bias against meat had its origins in a 1961 report from the Ameri...

An orchestrated effort to change the supply management approach to the U.S. sugar market has been on hiatus for at least a decade, but that is about to cha...

With all of the focus directed to the release of USDA's planted acreage estimates next Tuesday, the 1 June quarterly stocks reports, which will also be iss...

Traders lured into short positions in the market by visions of another year of big crops on top of large carryout volumes decided they could no longer bear...

While it is still relatively early in the growing season, there is increasing concern about the impact heavy rains will have on key soybean-growing states...

The American approval of TPA shifts the international focus to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but what are the implications of the former on the latt...

Argentine market participants are buoyed by the expectation that the U.S. will be unable to fully meet growing Chinese sorghum demand. While there are othe...

Prices continued decreasing in the European part of the Russian grain market. This was especially true for barley and wheat, although the causes were somew...

Today's up-and-down price action in grain and soy futures markets is typical market fare leading up to key USDA reports, which in this case are the 30 June...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Iranian government forecasts wheat imports will drop to 2 MMT this year as it plans to purchase as much as 7.7 MMT of the expected 11 MMT in domestic p...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Market prices were driven steadily lower for much of the last six months, largely by the abundance of U.S. and world supplies of grains and soybeans. Never...

The 30 June reports on acreage and quarterly stocks are already affecting grain and soy markets a week in advance. The apparent decline in crop conditions...

USDA's Economic Research Service has released a report that discusses the potential to foster additional growth in U.S.-Cuba agricultural trade and the pos...

In order to supply European firms seeking non-biotech soybeans and soymeal, the German farming company KTG Agrar AG has sharply increased its plantings of...

Several mid- and long-term fundamental trends in China have contributed to declining pig stocks in May compared with the previous month and the same period...

Strategie Grains, the French analytic firm, is forecasting that the EU 2015/16 wheat balance will be heavier than the current campaign for two primary reas...

While the majority of market participants seem to know that crop conditions are rather subjective and statistically insignificant in relation to the final...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Today's Supreme Court ruling against the federal raisin marketing order sets a precedent for many other such orders for specialty crops as well as for milk...

Corn again struggled to follow the strong rallies in wheat and soybeans today. The trade apparently believes the wet conditions haven't affected corn acres...

Brazil may reportedly challenge America's Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program that is in the 2014 Farm Bill. However, there are at least two reasons wh...

The overall spending for discretionary programs and mandatory nutrition programs totaled $143.9 billion, which is $3.2 billion less than the president's bu...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The discussion now centers on how many total acres of corn and soybeans were planted or will still get planted as well as how the mix between both crops ha...

Soybeans were weak early in the session, but light fund buying brought prices back to unchanged before noon. It was a big week for soybeans as they traded...

With the current threat of El Nino, which could curb monsoon rains and negatively impact India's agriculture, GOI is taking steps to move farmers away from...

Reports out of China indicate the government has decided to end its program of purchasing and storing rapeseed and rapeseed oil as a means to support farme...

After three days of higher futures prices, mainly as a result of noncommercial short covering, grain and soy futures markets seemed due for a breather toda...

It is the cyclical nature of freely-traded futures markets that attracts traders and trading volume. If futures prices did not move up and down, there woul...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The U.S. has notified the WTO that it will seek arbitration over its mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) statute and the latest ruling against...

Pope Francis, whose upbringing was in the anti-elite populism of Argentina, now resides over perhaps the wealthiest institution on earth. Yet, he continues...

Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), but it has no chance at enactment. However, more notab...

Argentine soybeans are being offered at around 30 SN for July and August, but demand has disappeared because Chinese buyers seem to believe that there will...

With favorable weather conditions reported for Russia's spring and winter crop development, Rusagrotrans, the nation's largest grain transportation provide...

Grains and the soy complex were trading factors other than interest rates today. Weather and technical considerations once again dominated grain markets, b...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Pakistan has announced its intention to raise the soymeal import tariff from 11 to 21 percent as of 1 July, which is expected to boost its soybean imports...

Corn was pulled higher by the strength of soybeans. However, wheat markets shrugged off lower winter wheat crop ratings and prospects for more rain to clos...

The most specific, direct influences for grain and soy markets appear to be USDA's various reports and weather, but the fundamental message we see is that...

Although soymeal imports for Australia and New Zealand have rapidly increased since 2000/01, the interesting change has occurred in both countries' preferr...

The debate in monetary policy for most of the year has regarded when the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates for the first time in nine years. The...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While it is believed that Havana will soon end its dual currency system, there is a suggestion that Greece emerge out of its debt crisis by instead adoptin...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Since the Russian government lifted the export tax on wheat approximately one month ago, there has been no real pressure on old crop prices. Instead, old c...

Corn struggled under the pressure from the wheat market plus thoughts that the corn crop ratings might improve in today’s weekly report. The trade seems un...

Reversing Friday's defeat of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) by legislators will require more than just a few days of lobbying and a change in the legisl...

Since early March 2015, the average soymeal price has been on a constant downward slide. We expect this trend to continue, as demand from downstream users...

Since early March 2015, the average soymeal price has been on a constant downward slide. We expect this trend to continue, as demand from downstream users...

Farmers now face a predicament they haven’t faced since the bull market started nearly 10 years ago: they are carrying large old crop supplies and have sol...

U.S. chicken products have been blocked from South Africa since 2000 – the same year that the United States passed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (...

It was a reverse crush day in the soy complex with soybean futures slightly lower most of the morning and meal and oil futures a bit higher. That pattern c...

Yesterday the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) issued a fact-check document rebutting the agency's "Fact Sheet" on the final rule, which also provide...

With exports at a standstill and with only domestic buyers, sugar prices in India have crashed and are likely to remain so in 2015/16 as oversupply has had...

President Obama  will get another chance at House passage of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill, but it will require successful maneuvering of...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The soy complex picked up speed in downward momentum today, and wheat contracts also had sizable selloffs. The decline in corn slowed, however, presumably...

With nearly a billion people, many knowing hunger firsthand, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked a new economic think tank called Niti Aayog to p...

In January, the U.S. EPA approved the importation of Argentine soy-based biodiesel under a streamlined procedure, and now Argentina's shipping agency Nabsa...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last night to repeal the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef, pork and poultry. The nex...

The eventual growth and dominance of domestic producers within nations is generally the reason that governments are eventually incentivized to build up pro...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture announced that 29.065 MMT of grain were exported as of 3 June 2015 and from the beginning of MY 2014/15, a 17.7 percent...

USDA did not  anticipate any change in the average corn farm price because of a minor adjustment in this season's ending stocks, detailed in the June...

There has been plenty of analysis detailing how neither Washington nor Brussels has a monopoly on the imposition of precaution in product risk assessments...

G7 leaders meeting in Germany this week boldly pledged to end hunger for 500 million people by 2030. Given the fact that the number of malnourished has bee...

Indecision was the uniform message conveyed today by the charts of corn, wheat and soy complex futures contracts. The wheat market is also a promising bull...

The current El Nino will affect more than just U.S. grain and oilseed production, and those other developments can influence world market perspectives, whi...

A combination of declining global prices for soybeans and soymeal together with China's corn price supports has resulted in soymeal and corn now trading in...

Several ag-related bills have been brought to the House floor under a suspension of the rules, which is a parliamentary procedure to expedite the considera...

There have been comments in Egypt that lower-priced, imported wheat is being sold to the government as domestic stock because of its high purchase price. G...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The EU has now allocated 777,000 MT of the available 950,000 MT duty-free import licenses for Ukrainian wheat. Once the duty-free quota has been completed,...

The soybean market had another fairly volatile session today. There is still some concern about soybean planting progress because of the wet weather across...

The imported corn reserve auction sales are currently expected to reach only 10 MMT through September. Because of the large national corn inventory, this w...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

As happens often, government may have the best of intentions but uses a tin ear when gauging public interest and action. Farmer Eat Farmer World As happen...

USDA will revise winter wheat yields and, perhaps, harvested acres.Some downward adjustments in the world wheat crop are also possible with a great deal of...

The Greeks appear to have lost any semblance of sympathy from key European countries negotiating its rescue out of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Swedish business...

Despite shuttle rail freight values that are now $200-400 per car UNDER tariff through September, there is no demand. Farmers are unhappy with both old cro...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The market yard corn price in Bihar has been declining after the recent harvest there. Demand has also been low from the poultry sector as a result of the...

The scope of agricultural subsidies is large and comes in many forms. According to the OECD, the estimated support to farmers was about $492 billion global...

Unsustainable Bears At least seven factors in the modern era prevent agriculture from falling to the historic construct of a long-term bear market followin...

Markets surged to big gains in corn, wheat and soybeans in the first two hours of today's trade but couldn't hold above technical resistance, and the selli...

The head of the NPCC expressed disappointment with a recent administration statement regarding federal and White House procurement of hormone- and antibiot...

In the past, the goal of increasing trade, especially agricultural trade, enjoyed nearly unanimous bipartisan support. Thus, the current debate raging over...

The Export Import Bank of the U.S. (ExIm) is set to expire at the end of the month, which has spawned a brawl between Boeing and U.S.-based airlines over t...

Following China's approval of the Syngenta corn event last December, U.S. DDGS imports to that country have resumed steadily. However, some in the trade fe...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

It is hard to put a finger on what sponsored the stronger grain and soy markets. The rally was not widespread across other commodity markets. Last week's e...

An important point to consider is that the future of Argentine wheat production will be influenced by the ability of soybean and corn exports to put some r...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The U.S. dollar's up-and-down indecisiveness was mirrored by grain and soy futures as well as other commodity markets. All of the grain and soy complex con...

Ukroliyaprom, the Ukrainian oil industry association, has forecast the country's MY 2015/16 oilseed harvest at 17.195 MMT, a 6.3 percent increase compared...

Most of the public discussion about TPA and pending trade negotiations has focused on negative issues. However, the USTR is trying to create a more balance...

U.S. grain and soy futures markets, particularly Chicago wheat futures, are as sensitive to changing U.S. dollar values as other commodity markets and more...

A news report cites a survey of 4,200 U.S. consumers by a group called CivicScience that found far more concern about preservatives and chemicals in food t...

Even though USDA has estimated that 2015/16 ending corn stocks will be lower than what is predicted for 2014/15, not much imagination is required to envisi...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The barter arrangements between Russia and Iran are said to have been finalized to some degree as it is reported that the latter will export poultry meat i...

Today's White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship included the president signing a memorandum directing federal departments and agencies to create a five...

The government of Brazil today proposed raising the agriculture sector budget by 20 percent. Considering that it is cutting expenditures elsewhere, this wa...

Corn couldn't follow wheat higher or soybeans lower today and traded near unchanged until a last minute rally pushed the market 1-2 cents higher, which mig...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The combined effects of sluggish demand from downstream users and the large surplus of corn forced Chinese processors to take significant price hits last w...

The effort by organized labor against TPA is unprecedented, and the inclination is to bet against the bill passing except that it has such horrible implica...

While weather made a return visit to the wheat market this morning, very preliminary estimates indicate that another weekend frost/freeze across southern M...

As U.S. EPA issued its proposed Required Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) last Friday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack also rel...

Russia announced a new wheat export tax that begins 1 July, which is related to the USD/ruble exchange rate and is intended to help the government with a s...

The EPA data released today was just as bearish as market participants were expecting for corn and more bullish than expected for soyoil. General Comments...

The House Republican leadership indicated that Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) could be brought to the floor for consideration in June, but there was not a...

With low ocean freight rates, growing demand and strong supplies (among other factors), it would be difficult to find better market conditions than current...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Today's announcement met the EPA's committment under its proposed consent decree, which was intended to settle the lawsuit filed by two major petroleum tra...

Heat wave conditions are prevailing across India, strongly impacting poultry farmers as well as dairy operations. There are also implications for crops wit...

While the U.S. agencies responsible have worked well enough to make foods in the country consistently the safest in the world, there are food critics who d...

The Oregon State Senate is considering a bill that would ban routine use of antibiotics but allow for their usage to treat sick cattle, hogs and birds. Mea...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Nebraska legislature is receiving a great deal of attention this week for ending capital punishment in the state, but it also decided against passing a...

Soybean and soymeal prices had been buoyed recently by the Argentine strike situation that had shut down crush plants and snarled export loadings. Today's...

Argentina's government yesterday raised the export tax on biodiesel by 164 percent, applicable to exports made in April. The head of the Argentine Biofuels...

The Oregon State Senate is considering a bill that would ban routine use of antibiotics but allow for their usage to treat sick cattle, hogs and birds.Mean...

With domestic usage accounting for just a small percentage of its annual sunflower meal production, Ukraine may soon have a new market if it meets the expo...

The regulated view the final Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule with at least suspicion, and the National Farmers Union, which supported the earlier draf...

Argentina's financial instability has led to inflation, which is generating labor disputes that in turn are having a serious impact on the entire supply ch...

Although grain and soy futures prices are very low, in some cases at or near multi-month or multi-year lows, the technical profile across the entire market...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The union representing workers at Argentine oilseed processing plants in Rosario plans to continue its current strike that has shut down soybean processing...

Prospects for demand should not be ignored. When it comes to supply/demand analyses for grains and soybeans, it is the yardstick by which we judge the adeq...

The surging U.S. dollar steamrolled over just about everything else that might have affected grain and soy futures prices today and put the blocks to nearl...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators reportedly met three times during Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in Guam on the issue of access for American ric...

While the repeal of COOL is expected to pass the House handily, the Senate scenario is not so bullish for the statute's opponents as there is still a stron...

The Egyptian government  reported that it has purchased a record volume of local wheat that is said to be well above its target at a price much higher...

Conservation compliance was a controversial provision in the 2014 Farm Bill and was originally proposed to cover only program crops. When specialty crops w...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

World weather has been very cooperative over the past two years, resulting in record world crop production, increasing supplies and lower prices. We starte...

The U.S. wheat industry wrote a letter this week to Canadian officials that turned that government's successful arguments against America's country-of-orig...

Corn lost ground with losses in wheat and soybeans. Some analysts expect the first weekly corn crop ratings of this season to reach record highs. We doubt...

India is presently the world's top milk producer at 140 MMT, but its production efficiency is one of the lowest. With a goal of doubling output by 2027 to...

While the U.S. Senate has capped debate on the TPA legislation, there is still negotiation over the amendments that will be allowed to be offered. How...

A number of factors prompted funds to cover more of their short wheat position. That encouraged some buying in corn as well, which was further  suppor...

Over the last few years, the canola sector in the provinces of the Canadian Prairies has been beset with excess rainfall that has interfered with spring pl...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Yesterday the House Agriculture Committee approved a bill to repeal COOL, which will now move to the House floor where it is expected to pass. However, the...

Food security and how to achieve it is a complex issue that has been debated throughout recorded history. The question now being discussed is how to provid...

Overnight trading activity was active for soybeans but rather light for the grains. Drifting is a good word to describe Wednesday's day session, and that i...

The South American soybean market is seeing reduced Chinese demand for July. One reason is that a sharp drop in the Dalian futures this week eroded crush m...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While Russia's wheat exports plummeted from 1 February-13 May 2015 compared with the same period in 2014, its MInistry of Agriculture announced that a new...

Over the past 13 years, relatively few Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have voted in favor of international trade, while Republicans have av...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Grain and soy futures opened the overnight session with prices mixed before they turned lower. Fund short covering in wheat abated, and markets were pressu...

The ability of EU and/or Black Sea origins to price the value of wheat in world trade makes U.S. prices much less relevant to global wheat markets than the...

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) today introduced a bill to effectively repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements...

USDA economists have warned that this year's presidential election in Argentina could trigger a sharp decline in soybean prices if it results in that count...

Saudi Arabia's wheat imports are projected to rise by about 10 percent in 2015/16 as local production is decreasing and will  be phased out by 2016. I...

The success or failure of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the U.S. Congress becomes more nuanced as senators try and add amendments that may or may not...

Congressional critics have complained that rather than being captive of corporate interests, the U.S. EPA is instead under the control of green nongovernme...

Weather across the U.S. and Canada provided most of the impetus for today's strong rally in wheat. Corn tried to follow wheat higher, while soybeans had a...

The monthly data shows that there has been a dramatic shift toward restaurant spending in the last 10 months, and there are two major contributing factors...

Although the Russian government has officially announced that the export tax is effectively lifted, the new crop (July/August) prices for Russian wheat are...

After nearly a decade of generally excellent crops coupled with high prices that brought the best economic times in history to U.S. agriculture, the immedi...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Vice Agriculture Minister Zhang Zhaolin has indicated that pollution in agriculture is becoming a serious issue, and he is not optimistic about China's env...

Those traders who rely primarily on charts for decision-making generally realize that week-ending prices can influence recommendations via key indicators...

Former DPJ Minister for Agriculture Masahiko Yamada is suing the Japanese government over its Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, arguing it thre...

Those traders who rely primarily on charts for decision-making generally realize that week-ending prices can influence recommendations via key indicators...

A growing population, the affordability of vegetable oil and its increased usage in Indian households have all contributed to rising oil demand. Domestic s...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Funds are still short a record amount of wheat futures. Without much other bad news left to throw at the wheat market, a few positive stories have apparent...

While bearish prices had an impact on U.S. oil, OPEC was not affected and, in fact, may have been spurred onward. Other surprises in the bear market were f...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Today's markets were all about wheat, and the corn market was towed higher by its mega-rally. However, the strength of the grains did not transfer very wel...

Recognizing that the National Organic Standards Board (NOAB) has become dominated by marketing decisions, the National Farmers Union has made a request to...

It is often said that supply/demand analysis for grains and oilseeds is far more art than science. Of course, the farther into the future the forecasts of...

The U.S. has long been the world's largest soybean-producing country, but South America now appears to have supplanted it.as the global residual supplier...

The WTO has set a deadline of 18 May for its final decision on the U.S. appeal regarding country-of-origin labeling (COOL). If the appeal is rejected, the...

Following yesterday's WASDE release, optimistic viewpoints allowed grain and soy markets to make a modest recovery today. Soybean and corn prices were up,...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

With sufficient stocks available and a strengthening national currency, Ukraine's feed grain prices have decreased both domestically as well as on a few ex...

The U.S. organic foods industry formally petitioned USDA this week to initiate a research and promotion program for organic, but its goals may be different...

Soybeans would seem poised for an imminent selloff, but Argentina's farmers are being motivated to retain their large harvest by the futures market there t...

While monetary policy and the Federal Reserve itself are on the radar screen of policy makers who follow financial issues, the entire subject is still some...

USDA's May 2015 supply and distribution report was released today, which includes the first estimates for MY 2015/16. Many changes are likely over the next...

We are not sure that each year's May issue is always the most important of the springtime WASDE reports. However, they are still always very interesting an...

Today's markets were all about the May WASDE released today by USDA. Corn futures traded both sides in about an 8-cent range before closing with just fract...

It was all politics around the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill on Capitol Hill today as a cloture vote to end debate on it fell short, bringing differ...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

With domestic food price inflation approaching close to 10 percent, Egypt is using $6 billion received from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE to make more&n...

As the EU is expanding its prohibitive environment for GMOs by seeking to allow individual member states to decline their otherwise safe use and GMO labeli...

China's state corn purchase program for temporary reserves was estimated at around 83.4 MMT as of 30 April, a significant change from last year. Meanwhile,...

Several factors combined to pressure corn again today. Wheat lumbered along in step with the corn market, while its weekly export inspections were in line...

The EU allocated 273,000 MT of wheat export licenses last week, bringing the total to 28 MMT. Carryout stocks wil be significantly different this year, whi...

With the debate over lifting the ban on the export of crude oil becoming more pertinent, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) commissioned a st...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

About the only thing certain about tomorrow's numbers is that we believe USDA will use the 31 March planting intentions numbers for acres, while the yield...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Although GOI provided an incentive to ethanol manufacturers and an exemption from the 12.36 percent excise duty, the availability of cost-effective molasse...

The Kansas crop tour wrapped last night with participants seemingly surprised and disappointed by the results. The trouble today is that few people actuall...

Markets didn't produce much change overnight. Funds are still holding massive (record) short positions in wheat, and they were small buyers to end this wee...

As usual, policymakers and markets are out of sync with the latest case being renewable fuel mandates and bearish grain markets.As usual, policymakers and...

With gasoline prices quite high in Brazil as a result of government actions, ethanol has become more attractive to motorists there in a country where the a...

While USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack charged this week that the EU threatens global food security with its proposed opt-out policy regarding GM crop imports, t...

Several current factors may make a merger of the SEC and CFTC seem conceptually more appealing that it used to be. However, there are still great differenc...

Indonesia has taken action to support further development of the biodiesel sector with the goal of expanding domestic production and consumption of biodies...

Grains and the soy complex prices were mixed, but not much changed overnight. They weakened, though, during the day session as the U.S. dollar strengthened...

According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), the muscle cut ratio of March pork exports was the largest percentage since July 2013, while that for...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Water Solution at Hand There are resource constraints on earth, but water is not one of them. Likely Future Conflicts over Water Safe water for human consu...

The sharp correction of the U.S. dollar against the value of other major currencies accelerated today. Meanwhile, the corn market was torn between the stro...

The U.S., Australia and New Zealand have been pushing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) partners to adopt a common position on the geographic indicators (GIs...

The volume of Ukrainian vegetable and animal product exports to the EU during January-March 2015 showed a significant change. Vegetable product exports wer...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The common expectation at the recent Wheat Congress in Argentina is that market inefficiencies will improve once there is a new government, but producers'...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The difficulties in Syria have caused a change in regional shipping patterns as grain cargoes, which in the past would have enterd Syria's ports for discha...

Just how merry the month of May turns out to be for producers and consumers of grains, soybeans and their products depends to some degree on the prices of...

A union representing workers at 20 percent of Argentina's soybean processors went on strike today demanding higher wages. A major union representing truck...

The politics around congressional consideration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and, subsequently, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is becoming quite...

The soy complex was today's market leader, and soyoil futures set the pace. The catalyst has been a major move in the world edible oil market by China. Gen...

The 2014 Farm Bill required that USDA's Office of Chief Economist (OCE) provide Congress with an economic analysis of the impact of mandatory country-of-or...

Leadership of the bipartisan caucus has sent a letter to other members of Congress asking that they join the group to support renewable energy production t...

While buying interest in Russia's wheat is below offer prices, there is talk in the market that the government there could lift the export tax as early as...

The U.S. House appears ready to move on legislation to correct a couple of unhelpful issues in the agriculture market. One bill would pre-empt state labeli...

With the planting margin spread between corn and soybeans steadily widening, Chinese farmers have been less willing to dedicate land to the latter crop. A...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The market was expecting today's crop progress numbers to show that 50 percent of the U.S. corn acreage has been planted, but the total was higher. Meanwhi...

The market's problem continues to be adequate supplies of wheat and feed grains around the world and few worthy weather issues to talk about as the spring...

The Washington Post criticized the Chipotle restaurant chain yesterday for pandering to the unfounded fears of consumers seeking to avoid GMOs, so why are...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has passed a bill that would block implementation of the WOTUS rule, a bipartisan group of sena...

With only one potentially significant crop production problem facing the U.S. earlier this spring, next week's Kansas crop tour might provide some interest...

Wheat tried to trade higher off and on today, and Chicago July did show gains of 5-6 cents at one point. Meanwhile, the soybean market followed yesterday's...

In spite of the contentious issues of farmer suicides, their inability to receive full price for their production and the fact that 60 percent of India's p...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The expansion in container ship size, capacity and efficiency is a reflection of free trade and its benefits. However, growth in the size of these vessels...

The ink was barely dry on a positive spin for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) surrounding this week's visit to Washington by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō...

The leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees is urging USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to transfer funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation...

Confidence that the Argentine labor situation will quickly be resolved along with weakening world grain prices seemed to trump a surprisingly friendly week...

Many in the market see today's soybean prices as low versus the highs of the last three years. Perhaps many of the new players in futures markets do not re...

The strengthening of the real is encouraging Brazilian soybean producers to market slowly. Meanwhile, Chinese buyers seem primarily interested in purchasin...

Soybean prices were supported by the weaker U.S. dollar and the potential for labor problems in Argentina as farmers, processors and exporters try to handl...

It is no surprise why the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is about to come to fruition and TTIP looks like mostly many years of meetings and a modest outco...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While Russia's grain exports have substanially increased overall in the current marketing year, there have been other contrary changes in the volume of whe...

It is being reported in London that the major commodity houses are lining up to do business in Iran.This could be a very  good opportunity to supply g...

While the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has been one of the most politically contentious with the two parties at wide odds on environmental...

The day session saw wheat futures swinging higher after setting new lows, and soybeans running up 15-16 cents before retreating late to close with only mod...

If the EU proposal to allow member states to individually opt out of allowing the importation and consumption of biotech crops is adopted, there could be s...

Both the House and Senate budgets look to boost defense spending, while one of the other outcomes from the budget conference negotiations is related to whe...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

We are about to enter that annual transition period between the old crop cycle and the new one. Supply/demand tensions have provided a considerable degree...

The opportunity that has been missed in the current trade debate by Republicans and Democrats alike is the reform and boosting of worker retraining. Contra...

With rising prospects for quite a good wheat crop, Russia's export tax should logically be lifted 1 July at the latest. However, that is still uncertain du...

Bunge Canada's recent purchase of the Canadian Wheat Board concludes the second chapter in its demise since the Canadian government  attempted to turn...

The soybean market continues to have legs of its own. Meanwhile, funds are short in excess of 500 million bushels of wheat futures, and they added to that...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

China's Ministry of Agriculture unveiled the country's 2015-2024 outlook last week with projections and analysis on supply, demand, exports and imports for...

One of the sleeper issues in the U.S. and global economy moving forward is privacy and proprietorship of information. This concern has arisen in various fo...

The strains, which are multiple, mutate readily and are named after the two protein groups in the virus. The rate of outbreak has increased over the past w...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Managed money remains heavily short wheat, corn and soybeans.  Meanwhile, the focus of today's wheat markets was more on planting progress in the week...

Part of this week's ninth round of TTIP negotiations, yesterday's public session in New York, had American activist groups acting like their transatlantic...

Today's extended weather maps and the pattern that is developing should impact talk of planting delays across the Corn Belt.Today's extended weather maps f...

The recent weather patterns in India have affected the rabi corn harvest and the wheat crop. As a result, there are far-reaching implications domestically...

During a markup session before the Senate Finance Committee last night, Senate Democrats chose to help President Obama on trade and only pay lip service to...

The latest development in the H5N2 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the U.S. has been its discovery in a 3.8 million egg laye...

Weekly export sales for corn and wheat were slightly better than expected, and this helped trigger something of an early rally for futures prices during da...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

After being blamed in the past for artificially pushing grain prices to very high levels, index funds have pretty much slipped away from public attention t...

Statistics Canada today released the outcome of a planting intentions survey conducted 18-31 March that showed a surprising result regarding Canadian farme...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Corn futures prices traded in less than a 5-cent range before closing fractionally lower. Funds and other noncommercials holding long positions in May corn...

While the Argentine government has not  released any additional wheat export licenses, it did make an announcement in this election year regarding far...

Both Russia and Ukraine have reported domestic grain stock volumes that have notably changed from a year ago. Meanwhile, the board chairman of Cherkizovo G...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Horne v. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the justices learned once again that agriculture is treated unique...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While Europeans are in the U.S. pushing hard for acceptance of geographic indicators (GIs) as part of the TTIP negotiations, one potential reason why the U...

Nearly all of us who watch and trade in commodity futures markets eventually develop an opinion about the direction prices will take. These are called futu...

It has been a slow Tuesday for grain and soy futures markets with corn and soy prices unable to hang on to yesterday's gains. Much of the market's chatter...

One of the somewhat surprising issues to gain traction this year in Congress has been the status of Cuba trade and diplomatic relations.One of the somewhat...

Egypt has faced a much stronger outbreak of avian flu this year in small village flocks, which experts attribute to a specific factor. While none have been...

China's Ministry of Agriculture published a report today that predicts the country's annual soybean imports will rise by 15.8 percent  between now and...

Short covering continued across the soybean futures today. Most analysts are bearish, based on the forecasts for record world ending supplies. The problem...

Farm groups are urging the Senate to also address an estate tax repeal, and Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) has introduced a companion bill to the Hous...

Even though the new crop (July/August) 12.5 percent protein Russian/Ukrainian wheat is offered at $195/MT FOB, a price that is historically attractive at b...

A Chinese trading company was found last week to have illegally imported more than 6,000 MT of frozen meat worth about 345 million yuan ($55.6 million). Th...

The Minnesota Trucking Association and others filed a lawsuit in U.S. District court last Friday that alleges that state's mandate to use a 10 percent biod...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Now that there is a bill, the two major congressional committees with jurisdiction over trade plan hearings in the next two days on Trade Promotion Authori...

Even though it didn't seem like there was much of any weather premium in the market before this week's rainfall, the speculative trade evidently felt there...

Markets did absolutely nothing overnight and started that way this morning. Prices were little changed in corn, wheat and soybeans until just after 10:30 a...

 Avian flu has again surfaced in India as it erupted in the heart of the poultry belt in Telangana, which supplies eggs to eastern areas of the countr...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

On 15 April, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee gathered a number of recommendations for comprehensive tax reform that could potentially be considered this...

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has issued a report ("Healthy Food for a Healthy World") calling on U.S. policy makers to save the world from starvat...

A more than 30-year old system of national quotas for milk production in Europe ended last month and is expected to change the dairy market across the glob...

A bipartisan, bicameral bill authorizing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), "The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," w...

There have been many occasions when reason and common sense have been swept aside by emotion, demagoguery and political expediency. Two current examples wi...

Argentine farm organizations yesterday asked soy exporters to stop inspecting cargoes for bootleg biotech soybean events. The exporting firms have been doi...

Corn closes were mixed, and soybean prices were higher. The state of play in today's market can be described by noting that not one soybean or corn contrac...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The anticipation of Argentina's government distributing additional export licenses for corn and wheat is presently having little to no effect on spot corn...

As Russia reports a substantial increase in grain exports thus far in MY 2014/15 compared to a year ago, Rusagrotrans has downwardly revised its forecast f...

There were quite a number of sometimes contradictory factors for grain and soy market traders to chew on today, including the National Oilseed Processors A...

American politicians are no more averse to wrongheaded public pressure than their European counterparts – witness the current opposition to Trade Promotion...

Some questions still remain to be answered concerning the current 2014/15 corn situation. One of those pertains to the size of Brazil's crop, and another r...

The EU's precautionary principle has kept Brussels well ahead of Washington in the issuance of restrictions against potentially frightening things. Thus, i...

There are now reports the EU will soon propose options to deal with biotech crops. One under consideration would allow EU member countries to decide indivi...

Pakistani customs officials have confiscated shipments from Ukraine, Russia and Moldova, claiming there are quality issues. The latest seizure was reported...

Grain and soy futures prices never go in the same direction all of the time. This is the truism that supports the phenomenon known as Turnaround Tuesday –...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The overwhelming consensus is the Fed will raise interest rates, but the open question regards when. Following the Federal Reserve meeting in March, there...

There was the smell of rain in the air across the western reaches of the U.S. hard red winter wheat region, and that was enough to bring another major roun...

McKinsey & Company ranks high amongst major management consulting companies, but even it appears to struggle with the complexity of the agrifood system...

Coverage under SCO is available in 2015 for a few select crops in a few designated counties. Specific requirements must also be met, but there will be chan...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

While the drop in China's live pig and sow inventories clearly has propped up prices, the continued upward trend might actually decelerate due to downstrea...

What happened to the "demand destruction" that several years of very high prices were supposed to have wrought on the markets?Today's weekly export inspect...

California is in a major drought situation and now under emergency restrictions declared by Governor Gerry Brown. While these exempt agriculture, which has...

Markets were quiet overnight with corn, soybeans and wheat trading both sides in light volume. Wheat popped back today with some decent gains, while soybea...

As officials currently in charge of the EU are increasingly looking for ways to devolve power to the member states, including over GMOs, Washington is cons...

With its oil meals priced high, India has seen the level of exports impacted significantly, and the poultry sector there could benefit by importing supplie...

The last major USDA reports are behind us until the 30 June acreage and quarterly stocks updates. We're back to weather first and demand second, but there...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

USDA's April estimates of ending 2014/15 stocks, both for the U.S. and the world, probably command the greatest interest for grain traders and analysts.Eac...

The pushback from EU member states to the detailed meddling by Brussels into everyday European life has its politicians scrambling to give capitals more au...

All of the cases have been detected in the past month with five of those found since last week. The Minnesota farms are in a flyway for migratory birds, pu...

Thailand's energy minister announced today that the government plans to change the current biodiesel blending requirement on 15 April  in an effort to...

Grain and soy futures headed lower overnight with soybeans leading the way, and prices stayed lower this morning ahead of the release of USDA's April WASDE...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Amid the swinging U.S. dollar and crude oil, grain and soy prices were a sea of calm. Once again, prices traded a bit higher overnight, although it was not...

The volume of Ukraine's rapeseed oil and meal exports has notably changed for the months July 2014-February 2015 against the same period a year ago as have...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

 Argentine soybean quality is a concern this season as the first deliveries to the ports showed protein below 32.5 percent. This is a potentially seri...

Few consumers are aware that organic food in the U.S. is made with synthetics and chemicals as that industry does not support labeling. However,  the...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

According to some analysts, the logical "pivot to Asia" made by the Obama administration is in trouble without the TPP. Math and Trade U.S. Representative...

Syria and Italy are reportedly discussing a trade involving 100,000 MT of Syrian durum wheat for 100,000 MT of soft milling wheat. This type of countertrad...

The main question regarding U.S. corn and soybeans for the balance of the 2014/15 crop year is whether demand will be enough to achieve the levels foreseen...

It is a story that has repeated with some frequency recently. Overnight trading in grains and the soy complex produces a price rally, but the rally effort...

While the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers claim that jurisdictional water bodies are easily defined, a number of issues remain.Yesterday we wrote abou...

Currency Valuation and Trade The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and the strong U.S. dollar weigh on commodity trading decisions. The TPP and a Pr...

In an effort to offset a huge decline in soymeal exports, India may be rebating a larger percent of the FOB export value to exporters. India Increases Soym...

Two elements of our 20 March analysis of the 2015 U.S. wheat outlook, which pegged hard red winter wheat production at 810 million bushels and total wheat...

As proposed, the "Water of the United States" (WOTUS) rule would dramatically expand the amount of wet areas that would become federally controlled. Given...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

It was another day that found it tough to explain why we had the major shifts in nearly every market. After opening slightly higher following the long East...

Several factors are putting upward pressure on China's average pork prices. President Xi's decree that party officials implement an eight-point guide for o...

The Russian government is considering a possible extension of the wheat export tax beyond 30 June. If the tax is maintained through the 2015/16 campaign, i...

The Agricultural Market Information Service (AMIS), set up as political cover for political leaders who failed to take notice of an impending food price sp...

The EU's already approved policy to allow member states to decide individually whether GM crops could be grown on their territory was viewed as a net posit...

Exercising its new role under Dodd-Frank, the CFTC filed a civil lawsuit yesterday (1 April) in federal court charging Kraft Foods Group LLC and its affili...

USDA will focus on three specific areas in conjunction with the Obama administration's new National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria...

Grain and soy markets saw a dual between poor weekly export sales and growing weather concerns ahead of a three-day weekend. Corn futures prices did bounce...

The  Brazilian government's effort to re-evaluate 14 pesticides for possible bans has been ongoing for seven years and stymied by lawsuits as well as...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The National Association of Exporters of Agricultural Products has requested that the Russian government cancel the wheat export duty midway through its ef...

The export market for Argentine wheat improved this past week with some buyers from Brazil and Chile. Unfortunately, there is somewhat of a logistical prob...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) correctly asserts in its new analysis, "Feeding the World – Without GMOs," that it is "possible" to feed the growing...

We see today's upturn of grain and soy futures prices as acknowledgement that yesterday's stocks and prospective plantings really did little to change the...

The market's reputation for producing a volatile reaction to USDA March stocks and plantings report was well-maintained today. General Comments After a lon...

The expected activity in the food sector is based on lowered commodity costs and increased economic growth in the U.S. Most financial analysts see an oppor...

While Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed a preliminary agreement regarding Nile water,  the major water source for farming in Egypt and Sudan, it i...

Based on pre-report expectations, corn was supposed to be the market's bullish leader, while soybeans were to be further pressured by a large gain in plant...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Public Citizen is reporting that the Seattle City Council voted unanimously in opposition to Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). These are the elected leaders...

Today's USDA Stocks Report found total U.S. soybean supplies on 1 March did not quite meet the average analyst estimate but showed an impressive change aga...

The Obama administration, under the lead of First Lady Michelle Obama, has made a laudable attempt at reducing obesity in the U.S. A new book now concludes...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Soybeans benefited from the fund short covering in the wheat market. Weekly export inspections were also (again) better than expected, and there was some c...

At a subcommittee hearing held last week on the farm bill implementation, different agency administrators reported on the current status of program enrollm...

China's sorghum and barley imports continued to grow in February. The comparative price advantages of both with respect to domestic corn coupled with no qu...

The corn and soybean acreage numbers (as always) have attracted the most attention and will be the initial focus of tomorrow's reports. There are a number...

There are offers of Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian wheat for April/May shipment at $207-216/MT FOB without close buying interests. There are al...

The Republican congressional leadership is nearing one of its goals, passage of a joint budget resolution. With a statutory deadline of 15 April,  the...

Princeton University Research Scholar Tim Searchinger might minimally be called a pain in the backside to the ethanol industry for past statements. He and...

Following the sudden rise in domestic corn prices, India's end users are considering imports. Although direct, duty-free corn importation is permitted, cer...

The soy complex is where the selling was centered today, while wheat tried to recapture some of yesterday's big losses ahead of the weekend. Meanwhile, the...

With the Tuesday release of USDA's planting intention numbers, the large disparities between the corn quarterly stocks numbers and the trade guesses over t...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices.\...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was pushed by the Bush administration with wide bipartisan support in 2005 and 2007, but it demonstrates how risky and ev...

Several factors indicate that USDA's quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report, scheduled to be released tomorrow, will show a larger swine inventory. How much of a...

The ongoing South American harvest and the possible increase in 2015 U.S. soybean acres in next week's report is a heavy load for the soybean market to car...

The fight over Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) on Capitol Hill is intensifying and becoming brutish. While both sides in the debate are claiming to have th...

For the second week in a row, USDA's export inspections report indicated containers of soybeans for shipment to North Korea were inspected last week. Howev...

Argentina is poised to harvest approximately 23 MMT of corn, and close to 12 MMT of that should be available for export, assuming the government is willing...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

It was reported that Russian wheat exports decreased 34 percent during 1 February-18 March (compared with the same period in 2014) after introduction of th...

Today's relatively narrow futures trading ranges testify to the lack of fresh trading incentives as well as the market's cautious approach to next week's g...

While the House Agriculture Committee was receiving testimony 'mostly' advising government action to avoid retaliation for a WTO-illegal  country-of-o...

Other than outside factors that were largely ignored, grains and the soy complex had little to trade on today other than weather. Wheat reversed from the l...

For foodies, some processed food with substitute ingredients can be bad and others can be good, depending on whether there is an agreeable social cause tha...

While participants at this week's 9th Asia Grain Transportation Conference are generally in an upbeat mood, there have been several questions regarding the...

A tremendous amount of interest regarding investments in Egypt's agriculture was generated at a conference held there last week. Two key development agreem...

The Canadian economy has been a winner during the commodities boom of recent years. With recent yearend figures now available, however, that appears to be...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Analytical speculation about the amounts of acreage that will be planted to specific crops began soon after the January reports, and there are numerous fac...

There are several items that have been in the news recently and are worth thinking about before the planting season starts in earnest.This is the last full...

Given the outright hostility of labor unions and angst by liberals over the impact of free trade on the U.S. economy, Democratic presidential candidates ar...

Although old crop wheat on the Black Sea market is now offered at competitive levels versus French and German origins, demand is very difficult to find. Me...

A number of Chinese crushers have reportedly chosen to suspend operations temporarily for several reasons. Meanwhile, the average crush margin for imported...

This week's ambitious hearing lineup adheres to what Chairman Michael Conway (R-Texas) suggested would be the committee's agenda for the year: CFTC reform,...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Soybeans led today's push higher in the ag commodities with soybean futures gaining as much as 15-16 cents at one point. The buying was the result of anoth...

Unseasonal precipitation across much of India is impacting many crops, particularly wheat, fruits and vegetables. In turn, that is expected to continue aff...

We won't know what hard red spring wheat and durum acres will total until the 31 March USDA report. Opinions are mixed today with seed dealers continuing t...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Arguments and exaggerations regarding water use are the lifeblood of a number of issues facing livestock today from those in animal agriculture to producer...

Rather than change the underlying offending Cargo Preference requirement, the U.S. government is proposing to pay $90 million annually to American-flagged...

Markets were quiet in overnight trade, but that changed radically when the U.S. dollar collapsed and crude oil surged sharply higher. This brought across-t...

U.S. cottonseed crushing is forecast to decline in 2014/15 to the lowest level in 15 years. There are several reasons for this drop, and the situation may...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

Three main factors are impacting U.S. broiler exports, but chicken will also have to compete domestically with dropping pork prices. However, there are a f...

The grain and soy rally completely stalled out during the day session as the U.S. dollar continued to climb back from yesterday's beating. Soybean futures...

The current politics of free trade are so complex that the basic issues involved sometimes get lost.One definition of free trade is that it allows me to fr...

Congressional approval of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is at risk and the Obama White House is pulling out all of the stops. None of this will change th...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

The Brazilian soybean basis is anticipated to soon decline, and that is a potential concern for Argentine soybean producers as their position is being stea...

Ukraine's grain exports via its sea ports had a slight gain last month against the results of February 2014. Turkey's imports of Ukrainian wheat, however,...

The Fed's apparent reluctance to raise interest rates caused a big slide in the U.S. dollar's value in late trade, although it still is near a 12-year high...

Major food exporters are counting on growth in middle class incomes in developing countries for increased future demand. However, a recent analysis suggest...

Weather and production agriculture are inseparable. In the past, the weather market season nominally lasted until about 15 December. With the emergence of...

The European Commission and members of Parliament continue to debate how to handle the presence of "unauthorized" substances in organic food. It is very di...

The volume of Saudi Arabia's wheat imports is notably shifting as its domestic production is affected by a change in land usage. Meanwhile, maize demand is...

Today's grain, oilseed, cattle and hog prices...

During overnight trade, corn futures prices were unchanged to slightly weaker in slow trade. During the day session, though, fund pressure and technical se...

Much of the Senate's budget, which will likely be released this evening or tomorrow morning before a 2:30 pm (EDT) markup, will be focused on Medicare, Med...