Insights and Stories on USDA

U.S. grains: Futures rebound on Chinese buying, Midwest frost concerns

May. 7, 2020 at 4:14 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures prices rebounded on Thursday on renewed Chinese buying of corn and soy and as forecasts for sub-freezing temperatures across the country stoked concerns that some vulnerable crops may sustain damage. Gains, however, were tempered by plentiful supplies and worries about demand […]

Trump asks U.S. Justice Department to look into meat price disparities

May. 7, 2020 at 1:51 am CDT

By Reuters

U.S. grains: Choppy markets settle lower as demand destruction persists

Apr. 28, 2020 at 4:55 pm CDT

By Christopher Walljasper

Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

Apr. 28, 2020 at 3:24 pm CDT

By P.J. Huffstutter Tom Polansek

U.S. grains: Active planting weighs on corn

Apr. 27, 2020 at 5:21 pm CDT

By Christopher Walljasper

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking, technical selling pressure hogs, live cattle

Apr. 24, 2020 at 7:21 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog and live cattle futures eased on Friday, with end-of-week profit-taking and technical selling pressuring the livestock markets, traders said. Strong consumer demand for pork underpinned the hog futures, which rose 17.4 per cent this week. “The pork product markets continue to scream higher and […]

By Mark Weinraub

U.S. grains: Corn gains on short-covering

Apr. 22, 2020 at 4:48 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose 2.4 per cent on Wednesday as traders unwound bearish bets following the market’s decline to its lowest since September 2009 on Tuesday, traders said. “Corn got down to the lowest prices yesterday we have seen in many years, and we have a […]

By Mark Weinraub

U.S. grains: Corn hits lowest since September 2009

Apr. 21, 2020 at 5:25 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell 1.4 per cent on Tuesday to a fresh 10-1/2-year low as crumbling demand for fuel due to the global coronavirus pandemic threatened the ethanol sector. “They are taking their cue from energy,” said Mark Schultz, chief market analyst at Northstar Commodity. “It […]

By Mark Weinraub

U.S. livestock: Cattle mixed on hopes of economic reopening

Apr. 17, 2020 at 7:18 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live and feeder cattle futures ended mixed on Friday, with nearby contracts pressured by coronavirus-related disruptions at packing plants, while hopes for a reopening of the economy lifted deferred contracts. Actively traded June live cattle ended higher on the week, for a second straight week, […]

By Christopher Walljasper

U.S. announces coronavirus aid for farmers, food buys for poor

Apr. 17, 2020 at 6:59 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help U.S. farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products (all figures US$). The U.S. Agriculture […]

By Karl Plume P.J. Huffstutter