Insights and Stories on USDA

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall on big U.S. supply

Sep. 26, 2019 at 4:18 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures retreated on Thursday under pressure from large supplies and as some traders were disappointed with the size of pork export sales confirmed to China, analysts said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the world’s biggest pork consumer and hog producer bought 3,375 […]

U.S. agriculture official calls trade tensions with China ‘new normal’

Sep. 25, 2019 at 5:12 pm CDT

By Maximilian Heath

U.S. grains: Soybeans slip on weather, Chinese buying concerns

Sep. 25, 2019 at 4:17 pm CDT

By P.J. Huffstutter

Klassen: Feeder cattle market remains volatile

Sep. 24, 2019 at 4:06 pm CDT

By Jerry Klassen

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures rise after Friday’s declines

Sep. 23, 2019 at 5:35 pm CDT

By Mark Weinraub

U.S. livestock: Hogs drop as China delegation cancels farm visits

Sep. 20, 2019 at 6:27 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures dropped to their lowest prices in more than a week on Friday as a Chinese agriculture delegation scrapped U.S. farm visits planned to build goodwill during trade talks next week. The canceled trips to Montana and Nebraska raised concerns that the U.S.-China […]

By Tom Polansek

U.S. grains: Soy firm on export sales, trade optimism

Sep. 19, 2019 at 8:18 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Thursday as strong weekly export sales data and hopes for progress toward a U.S.-China trade deal more than offset pressure from a crop-boosting Midwest weather forecast. Corn also rose as the market weighed favourable harvest weather against signs of improved demand […]

By Karl Plume

Safety advocates sound alarm over new U.S. hog slaughter rules

Sep. 19, 2019 at 2:03 am CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. food safety and the health of plant workers will be at risk from new federal rules that allow meat companies to slaughter hogs as fast as they want and shift the role of government inspectors, food and environmental advocates said on Tuesday. The warnings about […]

By Tom Polansek

CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soy steady, watching harvest

Sep. 18, 2019 at 7:03 pm CDT

MarketsFarm — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures moved off of nearby lows and generally trended higher following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s supply/demand data released Thursday. However, attention has shifted to the looming harvest, with rangebound activity expected barring a fresh outside influence. “For this market to […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

U.S. grains: Soy slips on favourable weather, demand disappointment

Sep. 18, 2019 at 4:55 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures eased on Wednesday on mild weather across the U.S. Midwest that lessened risks that crop-damaging frost could hurt the late-planted crop and on worries that a recent wave of Chinese soy purchases has ended. Corn futures edged higher in a mild short-covering bounce, […]

By Karl Plume