Future looks bright for pulses
High in protein and fiber and relatively inexpensive compared to meat, pulses are gaining favor among global consumers. And because of their natural soil-enhancing and greenhouse gas-absorbing properties, pulses also rank high among crops from a sustainability standpoint. In a recent report, Rabobank identified pulses as a crop that “creates opportunities for new and existing market players.”...
Corn futures dip to four-year lows
The bulls seem to have abandoned corn futures and are giving few indications they expect to return anytime soon. On Monday, Aug. 26, the CME Group September and December contracts sank to their lowest levels since October 2020, with the spot month down 23% from a year ago and the contract falling 26% since the...
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 funds work to develop more resilient soybeans
The government of Canada awarded up to C$2.3 million over four years to Performance Plants Inc. (PPI) to develop change-resistant, high-yielding soybeans. The award is through the AgriScience Program–Projects Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. PPI’s objective is to create soybean varieties that are more heat and drought-tolerant, herbicide-resistant, use water efficiently...
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...
Grain market review: Coarse grains
The last several weeks have seen a mixed trend for maize (corn), although there was weakness in the United States on planting and yield expectations. The July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from the US Department of Agriculture added more bullish ideas on demand to the factors involved. In its Grain Market...
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...
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...
Grain market review: Wheat
As harvests approach, the focus for wheat traders is increasingly on the weather, especially its impact on Russia’s crop with low moisture earlier in the year and continued cold temperatures in May. A larger crop than last year is forecast, but with prices in a long-term downtrend, wheat consumption is forecast to outstrip growth. US Wheat Associates (USW) reported in its May 14 Wheat Letter Blog that “across the Northern Hemisphere, wheat price and crop development are dominating market discussion.”