Insights and Stories on USDA

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

Apr. 28, 2020 at 4:55 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell slightly on Tuesday as traders squared positions at month-end. A faster-than-average U.S. seeding pace in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Monday crop conditions report pressured corn futures, while traders noted the condition of U.S. winter wheat was not as […]

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

By Mark Weinraub

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

Apr. 22, 2020 at 4:48 pm CDT

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

Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says

Apr. 16, 2020 at 1:17 pm CDT

Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for […]

By Reuters

U.S. livestock: June hogs, cattle plunge limit down

Apr. 13, 2020 at 8:18 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures tumbled on Monday on worries about declining U.S. meat processing capacity after Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would indefinitely shut one of its pork plants due to novel coronavirus infections among workers. The closure at Sioux Falls, S.D., affecting four to five per […]

By Karl Plume