Cargill earns two BIG Sustainability Awards
Business Intelligence Group (BIG) has named Cargill the winner of a pair of 2024 BIG Sustainability Awards in recognition of the company’s global efforts within the agriculture and food value chains. Cargill was the recipient of both the Sustainability Leadership Award and Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award for its Hatching Hope program. These BIG...
Canada, Russia wheat production threatened by dryness
A recent insurgence of heat and dryness in western and south-central Canada’s Prairies has raised concern about spring cereal production. The region had one of its best starts to the growing season in years, and dryness kicks in while wheat and barley are reproducing, sending some chills up many producers’ spines. The marketplace does not...
US wheat, corn, soybean stocks up from 2023
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on June 28 said domestic stocks of wheat, corn and soybeans on June 1 were up more than 20% from a year earlier. The USDA, in its quarterly Grain Stocks report, estimated June 1 old-crop all wheat stocks, which comprise the 2024 carryover, at 702 million bushels, up 23%...
Key US crop areas battle too much, too little rain
Weather typically is the main force affecting agricultural commodity markets, from planting in the spring (or fall for winter wheat) to harvest in the fall (or summer for winter wheat), especially during the growing season for all crops. The most recent examples were from Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, and Brazil, the world’s largest...
Grain market review: Oilseeds
The prospect of ample supplies, despite weather problems in some producing regions, is pushing oilseeds prices lower. The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture said on June 12 in its Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade report that the US soybean oil price premium compared to other major exporters has declined, and...
COFCO, GROWMARK enter agreements on grain assets
COFCO International, Ltd. and GROWMARK Inc., on June 20, announced they have entered into definitive agreements regarding grain assets in Illinois. Beijing, China-based COFCO International has agreed to purchase GROWMARK’s minority stake in a transloading facility located in Cahokia. In contrast, GROWMARK has agreed to purchase a Chicago grain warehouse facility, known as the B-House, from...
COCERAL increases EU grain outlook
In its latest 2024 European Union/United Kingdom grain crop forecast, released on June 10, COCERAL increased its projection slightly to 296 million tonnes, about 500,000 tonnes higher than the previous projection in March. If realized, it would still be about 3.2 million tonnes higher than production in 2023, said COCERAL, a European association focusing on...
Australian winter crop totals expected to increase 9%
Australia’s overall winter crop production is expected to increase 9% to 51.3 million tonnes in 2024-25 and be the fifth highest on record, according to the June report from ABARES. Wheat production is forecast to increase by 12% to 29.1 million tonnes, while barley production is estimated at 7% to 11.5 million tonnes. Canola production...
Bunge, Zen-Noh to buy stake in Brazil terminal
Bunge Global SA and Zen-Noh Group have agreed through a joint venture to purchase 50% of a grain terminal at the Port of Santos from Brazilian rail operator Rumo for 600 million reais ($115.3 million), Reuters reported, citing a securities filing. Rumo said in the filing that it had tied up the binding agreement to sell its...
Untimely rains impacting French grains
Recent rains have dampened France’s wheat and barley outlook while slowing maize (corn) planting in the European Union’s largest grains producer, Reuters reported, citing data from farm office FranceAgriMer. A warm, sunny stretch earlier in May had helped crops and soil dry out after a damp growing season. Still, recent showers have raised concern that wet...