grain
World awash in grain despite record consumption
Consumers, livestock and industry will chew through a record 1.99 billion tonnes of food and feed grains this marketing year and world grain stocks still should rise by nearly 2 percent, said the International Grains Council in its monthly Grain Market Report. With the harvest season winding down in the Northern Hemisphere, IGC estimated the grain crop will be only 1 percent smaller than the record set in 2014/15.
First-year price of 2014 farm-bill crop subsidies, $6.5 billion
The government will make its first crop-subsidy payments under the 2014 farm law in October, with an estimated transfer of $6.5 billion to follow, said USDA deputy undersecretary Alexis Taylor at a House Agriculture Committee hearing.
Risk of U.S. farm supports exceeding Doha Round targets
There is almost no risk that the United States will exceed WTO limits on agricultural subsidies with the 2014 farm law, but the picture could be far different if Doha Round proposals are adopted, according to three senior economists.
Global food prices fall by a startling 5 percent in a month
Lower farm income shakes ag sector
The USDA’s recent estimate of a 36-percent decline in net farm income from 2014 to 2015 due to low grain prices has the agriculture sector on edge.
Turmoil in China may reduce world trade in grains, soybeans
Economic turmoil in China, the world's largest importer of rice and soybeans, could dampen world trade in feedstuffs and soybeans, said the International Grains Council.
Grain trains back on track
As the USDA prepares to announce another near-record harvest, farmers in the upper Midwest can breathe a sigh of relief that plenty of train cars will be available to ship their grains to market, says the Associated Press.
World grain harvest forecast is third-largest ever
The world grain harvest "is still expected to be the third-largest ever," despite a heat wave that hurt the wheat and corn crops in Europe, said the International Grains Council in its monthly Grain Market Report.
Grain-farm income to plummet this year in Midwest
A farmer with 1,500 acres of highly productive land in central Illinois could see net income this year that is a fraction of last year - around $7,500 versus more than $103,000 in 2014, says U-Illinois economist Gary Schnitkey.
Dry weather cuts grain crops 21 percent in southern Africa
An extended dry spell will slash the corn harvest in southern Africa by 26 percent from last year's bumper harvest, according to a quarterly FAO report. Corn is the major grain in the region, accounting for 80 percent of cereal production.
Heavy losses of livestock and stored grain in Nepal
Farmers lost a large portion of their livestock in the six districts of Nepal hit the hardest by earthquakes earlier this year, and half of the farming households lost nearly all of their stored crops of rice, corn, wheat and millet, says the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Kernza, a perennial grain, looks for a chance to take root
A plant scientist from the Land Institute in Kansas is developing a perennial grain, Kernza, from intermediate wheatgrass, says Civil Eats. "And there's a widespread team of researchers hoping their work will pave the way for an entirely new form of food."
House sends export inspection, livestock price bills to Senate
In less than half an hour, the House passed on voice votes bills to reauthorize the Grain Standards Act and the mandatory livestock price reporting program, each with significant modifications to prevent disruption of service. The bills now go to the Senate. The Grain Standards bill would require the USDA to step in immediately if there is an interruption of inspection of grain at export terminals, either by dispatching federal inspectors or inspectors from state agencies empowered to conduct the work.
In Canada, more land sown to grain, less to oilseeds
Canadian farmers are planting more wheat, corn, barley and oats than last year while cutting back on soybeans and canola, said Statistics Canada, based on a survey of 24,500 farmers from May 28-June 11.
Smaller corn, soy supplies but big harvests on horizon
Stockpiles of U.S. corn and soybeans are smaller than expected, giving a boost to futures prices in the near term, although massive harvests of the two most widely planted crops in the nation are on the horizon.
U.S. share of world wheat market low for second year
The United States, the world's largest wheat exporter until two years ago, is in an export slump for the second year in a row, according to the Grain: World Markets and Trade report.
Polls point to largest soy plantings ever; record crop possible
For the second year in a row, farmers will plant a record amount of land to soybeans, according to polls of analysts ahead of the annual Prospective Plantings report due on Tuesday. The USDA report is based on a survey of 80,000 operators and the first broad-scale sample of farmers' crop plans for the year. Polls by Reuters and Bloomberg show analysts expect soybean plantings of 85.9 million acres, up 2.6 percent from last year's record 83.7 million acres.
World food prices lowest in nearly six years
Prices for the major food commodities fell by 1.4 percent during May, to their lowest levels since September 2009, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Its Food Price Index, at a reading of 166.8, was down by 20.7 percent in one year.
War has limited impact on world grain and oilseed output
Commodity prices soared when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 amid fears of grain shortages with two of the world's leading grain exporters engaged in war. Instead, global production of grains and oilseeds has exceeded forecasts based on production before the invasion, said four agricultural economists on Monday.