soybeans
Big crops and low prices for U.S. farmers … again
Once again, the United States — one of the agricultural giants of the world and the largest farm exporter — is awash in grain. Stockpiles of corn and soybeans are far larger than expected and the fall harvest could see record corn production and the third bumper soybean crop in a row.
Rising prices will attract largest-ever U.S. soy plantings, analysts say
When USDA releases its annual Acreage report today, analysts expect it will show the largest U.S. soybean plantings on record, as growers pare back on corn to pursue rising prices for soybeans on the futures markets. Bad weather damaged the soybean crop in South America and created an unexpected opening for U.S. farmers to make some money three years after the collapse of the agricultural boom.
Moderate drought in Iowa but corn and soy in good shape
An unseasonably dry spring induced a moderate drought in Iowa, the country’s leader in corn and soy production, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor reports. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory yesterday after heat index values reached between 101-105 F, a chief concern for farm operators working on Iowa’s 87,000-plus farms.
Argentina and Monsanto settle squabble over soybeans
Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile said the Argentine government will oversee testing of soybean crops in an agreement to assure Monsanto that its genetically engineered seeds are not being pirated, said Reuters. Monsanto, the largest seed company in the world, had threatened to stop selling its seed in Argentina, the No. 3 soy producer, because of the dispute.
Q&A: How a soybean boom threatens the Amazon
This year, Brazil harvested around 100 million tons of soybeans from 33 million hectares (82 million acres), making it the second largest soybean producer in the world after the United States. These figures have grown steeply in recent years, partly due to demand from China, Brazil’s largest trading partner and the largest soybean importer in the world.
Crop outlook: Amid a boom, low-prices
If USDA agrees with analysts, its monthly crop report will say U.S. farmers are growing slightly more wheat and soybeans and marginally less corn than previously thought. One thing would not change in the report, due today at noon ET: a slump in commodity prices that began in 2014 is forecast to persist for years to come.
World heads for second-largest grains harvest ever
The outlook for wheat and corn crops in the major grain-growing countries of the world has improved by 10 million tonnes in the past month, said the International Grains Council in forecasting the second-largest global grain harvest ever. Despite an upturn in consumption, the grain carry-over at the end of 2016/17 would be a record 474 million tonnes, up 6 million tonnes from 2015/16, the current record.
Massive corn crop, lowest market price in 10 years
If they take their cues from recent changes in the futures markets, U.S. farmers will plant slightly more soybeans and correspondingly less corn, says the think tank Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.
World soybean stockpile to shrink in year ahead
Adverse weather in South America - harvest-time rain in Argentina and drought in Brazil - will reduce the global soybean crop by 1.5 percent in the current crop year, says the International Grains Council.
Low commodity prices mean farm income stress
Based on average yields and costs, Corn Belt farmers would barely make money at the corn and soybean futures prices now offered for this year's crops, says economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois.
When China cuts corn supports, soybeans look good
Farmers in the top corn-growing province of China say they will shift land to soybeans or other crops now that the government is reducing the support price for corn. The decision to allow the market to set the price for corn "should transform the agricultural landscape," says Reuters.
Contrary to expectations, soy returns may exceed corn
After record-setting soybean crops two years in a row, U.S. farmers are expected to expand corn plantings and throttle back on soybeans this year.
Lowest U.S. corn, soy, wheat prices in a decade
The outlook for commodity prices has worsened since last fall due to large harvests that fattened stockpiles around the world, said USDA chief economist Robert Johansson at the annual Outlook Forum.
U.S. farm exports tumble, led by China
U.S. farm exports will slump this year to $125 billion, the lowest level since 2010, due to strong competition from other exporting nations and reduced demand for imports, said the Agriculture Department in a quarterly update.
Soy growers back cotton as an oilseed
The farm group representing U.S. soybean growers gave its support to making cotton eligible for crop subsidies as an oilseed as well as having its own subsidy program as a textile fiber. Soybeans and cotton are grown throughout the South and Southwest.
Uncertainties inspire variability in soybean prices
Soybean futures prices fell 18 percent over a two-month period this summer before rebounding by 9 percent, writes economist Darrel Good of U-Illinois, who says "soybean prices may continue to trade in the wide range of the past three months."
Brazil to hit the century mark in soybeans
Soybean growers in Brazil, driven by higher domestic prices, will expand plantings for the tenth year in a row and reap a record 100 million tonnes of the oilseed, said USDA. Brazil is second to the United States as a soybean grower but the world leader in soybean exports.
Wheat crop smaller than thought, so is soybean stockpile
In one of its final looks at this year's wheat crop, the USDA said the harvest totaled 2.052 billion bushels, 4-percent smaller than its previous estimate.
Exports boom as bumper corn crop pulls down farm-gate prices
U.S. corn exports are climbing for the third year in a row and will be the fourth largest on record this trade year, thanks to the mammoth crop now being harvested and falling market prices, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. The 15.2 billion-bushel crop would be just a hair smaller than the record set last year.