Grains, Seeds, Vegoils, Meals, Softs, Agri News

Oct 21 - After trade talks in U.S., China ramps up Brazilian soy purchases 
Chinese importers have been busy booking fresh purchases of soybeans from Brazil this week, despite the White House announcement that China had agreed to buy up to $50 billion of U.S. farm products annually during trade talks last week. The purchases from Brazil, rather than the United States, show that Chinese buying has been driven more by price than policy since last week's preliminary trade agreement that U.S. President Donald Trump hopes will be signed next month.

 Oct 21 - USDA says pork sales data may include old deals, vexing traders 
U.S. Department of Agriculture pork export sales data issued on Friday for Oct. 4-10 included "a significant quantity" that might have been sold in previous weeks, the agency said, after traders and analysts questioned the accuracy of the weekly report. Traders have been paying close attention to U.S. sales as a devastating outbreak of a fatal pig disease in China, the world's top pork consumer, has tightened global meat supplies. The delayed disclosure that Friday's report may have contained sales from prior weeks shook some traders' confidence in USDA data, the reference for the U.S. farm sector. 

 Oct 21 - African swine fever outbreak has cut Vietnam hog herd by 20% - USDA undersecretary 
African swine fever has killed off about 20% of Vietnam's hog herd, and it is not clear whether the outbreak has been contained, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Ted McKinney said on Friday. There were some reports that the number might be higher, said McKinney, who spoke to reporters on a conference call from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, during a government and agricultural industry trade mission.

Oct 21 - Funds extend bullish soybean views with U.S.-China trade deal in sight - Braun 
Speculators boosted bullish views on Chicago-traded soybeans last week as it appears that an official trade deal between the United States and its top buyer China is just weeks away. Meanwhile, market participants are still unsure on the size of the U.S. soybean harvest, which is underway now. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts it will be the smallest crop in six years, down 20% on the year, though some believe the decline could be sharper.

Oct 21 - Cargill to resume receiving cattle at Kansas plant early next week - spokesman 
Cargill stopped receiving cattle for slaughter at its Dodge City, Kansas, beef plant after an explosion on Thursday but it expects to resume early next week, a company spokesman said on Friday. The company continues to process carcasses it had on hand at the time of the Thursday explosion, which occurred in a stand-alone building outside the main facility and injured two workers. 

Oct 21 - Kashmir apple trade picks up again under shadow of militant attacks 
More than 10,000 trucks laden with apples left Indian-ruled Kashmir this week in a sign that the territory is returning to normal, according to officials and government data, after India imposed a clampdown on the region in August. Involving some 3.5 million people, apples are the core of Indian Kashmir's economy, which went into a tailspin after phone and internet links were suspended and hundreds of people detained to prevent anti-India protests from erupting in the streets.

Oct 21 - Egypt's GASC seeking soyoil, sunflower oil in tender 
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) is seeking cargoes of soyoil and sunflower oil in an international tender, the state buyer said on Sunday.  GASC is seeking at least 30,000 tonnes of soyoil and 10,000 tonnes of sunflower oil The vegetable oils are for arrival Dec. 5-20, GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said. The deadline for offers is Oct. 23.

Oct 21 - Brazil soy crusher Imcopa may sell plants at auction on Dec. 4, judge rules 
A bankruptcy court in Paraná state has scheduled an auction to sell two plants belonging to Brazilian soy processor Imcopa International SA on Dec. 4, the company said on Friday. Imcopa, one of the largest non-genetically modified soy crushers in Brazil, said the sale of the plants in the towns of Araucária and Cambé was foreseen in its reorganization plan approved by creditors in 2017.

Oct 18 - Tyson Foods bans growth drug from U.S. hog supply as meat firms chase China demand 
Tyson Foods Inc in February will stop buying U.S. hogs raised with a growth drug banned by China, the company said on Thursday, as global meat suppliers seek an edge in boosting sales to Chinese buyers facing a huge pork shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease. The halt in the use of the drug, ractopamine, reflects a change in strategy for Tyson, company watchers say. The company previously sought to profit by filling holes in U.S. supplies that were left when industry rivals like Smithfield Foods and JBS USA sent American pork to China. 

 Oct 18 - China pork output falls 17.2% y/y for Jan-Sept period - stats bureau 
China produced 31.81 million tonnes of pork in the first nine months of 2019, down 17.2% from the same period last year, official data showed on Friday, after African swine fever devastated its hog herd.  Output fell as the size of the herd declined 28.5% from a year earlier to 306.75 million head as of the end of September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. 

 Oct 18 - Strategie Grains further raises 2019/20 EU wheat export forecast 
Strategie Grains has again lifted its outlook for European Union soft wheat exports this season, citing competitiveness on world markets and lower-than-expected global supply, notably from drought-hit Argentina and Australia. In a monthly report the consultancy forecast 2019/2020 exports outside the EU at 27.3 million tonnes, up from 25.7 million seen in September.

Oct 18 - White House adviser says China agricultural purchases will depend partly on markets 
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday that China's "serious commitment" to buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods as part of a phase 1 trade deal would depend in part on private companies and market conditions. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Kudlow said the first phase of a trade deal, revealed last week, may be signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum next month in Chile, noting that the figures relating to Chinese purchases were a "considered number."

Oct 18 - Dryness dents Argentine wheat, rains in eastern corn belt speed sowing 
Rains in Argentina have not been strong enough to help wheat fields after weeks of dryness, but showers in the eastern farm belt have helped speed corn planting, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.  Potential wheat yield losses are estimated at up to 40% in southern Cordoba, eastern La Pampa and western Buenos Aires province, the exchange said in a report. Those areas got less that 20 mm (0.8 inch) of rain on average during the week.

Oct 18 - Russia says Vietnam asked it to temporarily suspend wheat exports 
Vietnam has asked Russia's agriculture safety watchdog to temporarily suspend issuing wheat export certificates, Yulia Melano, spokeswoman for watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, said on Thursday. Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter and Vietnam is a major buyer of its wheat but it slashed its purchases significantly a year ago after finding imports containing thistle seed. 

Oct 18 - Cargill suspends shifts at Kansas beef facility after explosion 
Cargill said on Thursday it had suspended some shifts at its Dodge City, Kansas, beef-packing plant after an explosion injured two employees. Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said the company expects the facility to be fully operational soon and that it would meet all it customer commitments. The company is investigating the cause of the accident at a stand-alone building on the site, he said. 

Oct 17 - China's pig herd to recover in 2020 after African swine fever devastation - official
China's hog production capacity should bottom out before the end of 2019 after outbreaks of African swine fever decimated the world's biggest pig herd, an official said on Thursday, forecasting a return to usual pig numbers in 2020. Inventories at large farms have already started to rebound, according to Yang Zhenhai, director of the Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, speaking at a briefing on Thursday. 

 Oct 17 - Drought vaporizes Australia's share of global wheat exports - Braun
Drought has plagued Australia’s wheat crop for the third year in a row, and the sharp production losses have caused the traditionally major wheat supplier to slip into its most insignificant state ever on the global export scene. This has opened the door for other suppliers to take advantage, but global wheat supply is still comfortable and exports competitive even as Australia has been largely lacking from the equation for two years now. 

 Oct 17 - Subsidy helps India traders sell sugar to Iran - sources
Indian mills are aggressively selling old season sugar to Iran after New Delhi announced a subsidy to help cash-strapped mills export a surplus, five traders said, as Tehran strives to secure food supplies under U.S. sanctions. Exports from the world's biggest sugar producer could put pressure on global prices but will help India reduce its inventories that have driven down domestic prices.

Oct 17 - Cargill names new Brazil leader Sousa to replace Pretti
U.S. Commodities trader Cargill Inc on Wednesday said Paulo Sousa would lead the company's operations in Brazil, taking over as president on Dec. 16 as Luiz Pretti prepares to step down. Sousa will also retain his position as head of Cargill's South American agricultural commodities division, which he has led since 2016, the company said.

Oct 17 - Bayer expects significant surge in number of U.S. glyphosate cases 
Bayer expects the number of claims in the United States related to Roundup herbicide to have surged in the third quarter, as the German drugs and pesticides maker tries to reach a settlement after earlier court rulings against it. "With the substantial increase in plaintiff advertising this year, we expect to see a significant surge in the number of plaintiff filings over the third quarter," the company said in a written statement.

Oct 17 - Angry farmers cause Dutch police to close off parliament square
Police in the Dutch city of The Hague closed its central parliament square on Wednesday to keep out farmers protesting over what they see as attempts to blame them for nitrogen pollution. Thousands of irate farmers had driven tractors to The Hague hours earlier in their third large protest in a matter of weeks. 

Oct 17 - Warming climate puts Austria's hip Gruener Veltliner wine at risk
One of Austria's leading wine-growing regions, which helped place the environmentalist Greens on the threshold of power in elections last month, has one demand for the new government: save the country's most famous tipple. A rapidly heating climate threatens Austria's best-known wine, the Gruener Veltliner, which put the Alpine country back on the global map after a scandal over wine contaminated with antifreeze nearly ruined the sector three decades ago.

Oct 16 - China says it already bought 700,000 tonnes of U.S. pork, data shows smaller sales
Chinese firms have already purchased 700,000 tonnes of pork and 700,000 tonnes of sorghum from the United States this year to meet market demand, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, although U.S. government data pointed to smaller pork sales. China, the world's top agriculture market, has also bought 320,000 tonnes of cotton, 230,000 tonnes of wheat and 20 million tonnes of soybeans from the United States, spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing.

Oct 16 - Trump administration proposes plan to raise U.S. biofuels use - EPA
The Trump administration, in an effort to mend fences with the powerful corn lobby, proposed a new formula on Tuesday to boost biofuels demand, but the proposal instead only provoked more consternation from the industry. Corn and soybean farmers have been angered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to greatly expand the number of exemptions given to smaller refiners from blending biofuels into the nation's gasoline pool. They argue the expansion undercuts demand. 

Oct 16 - USDA mulls adding corn crop revisions to September quarterly stocks report
Statisticians at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are considering adding revisions of the previous year's corn crop to the government's September quarterly stocks report, a USDA official said on Tuesday. Each September, as part of the quarterly report, the USDA reviews its estimate of the previous year's soybean crop, based on an analysis of on- and off-farm stocks, export and domestic usage, and farm program administrative data. 

Oct 16 - NOPA September soy crush below expectations at 152.566 million bushels
U.S. soybean crushings were well below trade expectations in September after tumbling 9.2% from the previous month, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released on Tuesday. NOPA members, which handle about 95 percent of all soybeans processed in the United States, crushed 152.566 million bushels of soybeans last month, NOPA said. That was down sharply from the 168.085 million bushels crushed in August and the 160.779 million bushels crushed in September 2018.

Oct 16 - Malaysia offers to increase imports from India after Kashmir row
Malaysia is considering raising imports of raw sugar and buffalo meat from India, potentially easing trade tensions after reports New Delhi could restrict Malaysian palm oil imports following the country's criticism of India's actions in Kashmir. Malaysia is the world's second largest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia. Its benchmark palm oil futures recouped losses to end higher on Tuesday after the announcement by the country's government. 

Oct 16 - Pilgrim's Pride closes Tulip acquisition, strengthens position in UK pork market
Brazil's JBS SA said on Tuesday that its subsidiary Pilgrim's Pride Corp concluded the acquisition of Tulip Ltd in the United Kingdom, where the company is seeking to strengthen its position in the market for pork. In a securities filing on Tuesday, JBS said Tulip's acquisition, valued at 290 million pounds ($367 million), was approved by Pilgrim's board and funded with cash.

Oct 15 - Trump's hailing of $50bln in Chinese farm purchases seen as 'meaningless'
China is still a long way from forking out $50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on Monday, cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles. Outlining the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lauded his counterparts for agreeing to make purchases of $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. agricultural goods. 

 Oct 15 - China's pig herd in Sept down 41.1% from year earlier
China's pig herd in September was 41.1% smaller than it was a year earlier, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as a year-long African swine fever epidemic continued to slash the world's largest herd. The number of sows in China also fell by 38.9% in September, after the deadly disease spread to every province in the country.

 Oct 15 - Crop Watch: Corn and soy yields edge upward as harvest progresses -Braun
Harvest activity has finally started picking up for the U.S. Crop Watch growers, and both the yield expectations and final outcomes are slightly better for both corn and soybeans than what most of the growers had predicted all season. Four of the eight Crop Watch soybean fields have been harvested, and two more are in progress. 

Oct 15 - Saudi's SALIC, Russian fund team up on agri projects
Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF and Saudi Arabia's SALIC have signed an agreement to team up in searching for investment projects in the Russian agricultural sector, RDIF said in a statement on Monday. President Vladimir Putin visited Riyadh on Monday for the first time in over a decade, seeking to capitalise on growing influence borne of military advances in Syria, strong ties with regional rivals and cooperation on energy policy. 

Oct 14 - China's pork, beef imports surge in September 
China's pork imports in September surged 76% from a year earlier while beef imports came close to a monthly record, as it stocked up on proteins after disease decimated its huge hog herd, customs data showed on Monday. Pork imports for the first eight months of the year were 1.33 million tonnes, up 43.6% from the same period a year earlier, said the General Administration of Customs in a statement. 

 Oct 14 - U.S. farmers cheered by apparent trade truce, hope shipments to follow
U.S. farmers cheered the Trump administration's announcement of a potentially dramatic increase in U.S. agricultural sales to China on Friday but warned they needed to see a follow-through of actual purchases.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the agricultural purchases could scale up to $40 billion-$50 billion annually as part of a partial trade deal, potentially more than doubling the $24 billion in agricultural and related products China purchased from the United States in 2017. 

Oct 14 - Funds’ soybean optimism reaches 16-month top on China, smaller U.S. crop - Braun  Speculators have turned bullish on Chicago-traded soybeans for the first time since the trade war ramped up last year between the United States and China. It appears progress has finally been made between the two countries in the trade talks, and at the same time, the U.S. soybean crop is stumbling and huge domestic supplies are set to shrink.

Oct 14 - China Sept soybean imports ease on falling animal feed demand 
China's soybean imports in September fell 13.5% from the previous month, customs data showed on Monday, as an epidemic of African swine fever that has slashed China's pig herd reduced demand for soymeal. China, the world's top market for soybeans, brought in 8.2 million tonnes of the oilseed in September, down from last month's 9.48 million tonnes, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Oct 14 - India may restrict imports of palm oil, other goods from Malaysia 
India is considering restricting imports of some products from Malaysia including palm oil, according to government and industry sources, in reaction to the Southeast Asian country's leader criticising New Delhi for its actions in Kashmir. India is looking for ways to limit palm oil imports and may place restrictions on other goods from the country, said a government source and an industry source who participated in discussions led by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the planned restrictions.

Oct 14 - Trump's non-deal deal with China is mainly significant for sentiment: Russell When is an agreement not really an agreement? When it is the latest manoeuvre in the long-running trade dispute between the United States and China. That's not to say the Oct. 11 announcement by both parties isn't significant, but it is still a long, long way from the sort of comprehensive resolution sought not only by the world's two biggest economies, but also by the rest of the world fearful of a trade war-inspired recession.

Oct 14 - China reports new African swine fever outbreak in northwest province 
China reported another outbreak of the African swine fever on Sunday in its northwestern province of Gansu, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on its website. The virus, fatal to pigs but not contagious to human beings, has significantly slashed pig output in the world's largest herd since the deadly disease was first detected in August last year.

 Oct 14 - Rainfall to miss Argentina's drought-hit wheat regions - meteorologist
Current rainfall in Argentina will miss agricultural regions impacted by a drought that has forced the main grains exchanges to cut their 2019/20 wheat forecasts, a meteorologist said on Friday.  The west and south of Buenos Aires province and the provinces of Cordoba and La Pampa, regions that urgently need rains to avoid further productivity losses, have received very little rainfall in recent months.

 Oct 14 - Iraq allocates more land for wheat planting in 2019-2020 season
Iraq approved an allocation of 2.25 million hectares of agricultural land for wheat planting as part of its 2019-2020 season, 500,000 hectares more than the previous season, an official at the agriculture ministry told Reuters on Sunday. Iraq is a major Middle East grain importer and needs between 4.5 million and 5 million tonnes of wheat a year to supply for its massive food rationing programme.

Oct 14 - China caps volume of wheat to receive price support in 2020 
China said on Saturday it had set the 2020 minimum purchasing price for wheat at 2,240 yuan ($316.08) per tonne, the same level as 2019, but said it will cap the volume it buys from farmers under the guarantee programme. China buys wheat from farmers at the minimum price when the market price drops below that level. However it has been reforming its farmer support system in recent years after it amassed huge stocks of grain, often of poor quality.

Oct 14 - U.S. regulators allow genetically modified cotton as human food source 
U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light for genetically modified cotton to be used for human consumption, paving the way for a protein-packed new food source - edible cottonseed that tastes a bit like chickpeas - that its developers said could help tackle global malnutrition. The Food and Drug Administration's decision on the cotton plant developed by Texas A&M University scientists means it is allowed as food for people and all types of animals.

Oct 11 - China buys more U.S. soybeans, record volume of pork ahead of trade talks 
Chinese importers stepped up purchases of U.S. agricultural goods ahead of high-level trade talks in Washington, including another wave of soybean deals and the country's record largest weekly purchase of American pork, U.S. data showed on Thursday. Private exporters sold 398,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported via its daily sales reporting system that tracks large purchases. It was the second daily "flash sale" of soybeans this week to the world's top soybean importer.

 Oct 11 - USDA trims corn harvest view by less than expected, prices fall 
The U.S. Agriculture Department lowered its outlook for the corn harvest by less than most analysts were expecting on Thursday, with yield expectations seen as robust after good weather bolstered crop development during September. Crumbling demand for corn due to ample global supplies will also keep U.S. stocks plentiful, the government World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report showed. 

 Oct 11 - Australian farmer brings legal action vs Bayer over weedkiller - report 
An Australian farmer has launched a legal action against Bayer AG's agricultural chemicals unit Monsanto after being diagnosed with a type of cancer he says was caused by its weedkiller, a lawyer for the man said on Friday. New South Wales farmer Ross Wild was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma last year after using the weedkiller Roundup on his farming property near the border of NSW and Victoria since 1976, according to his lawyer Tony Carbone, of Melbourne-based Carbone lawyers.

 Oct 11 - U.S. soybean supply exodus: fleeting or final? - Braun 
A year ago, no one in the agriculture industry would have predicted such a low carryout number to appear on the U.S. soybean balance sheet on Thursday when the U.S. government updated its supply and demand figures. However, that lighter inventory – which is now expected to return near the previously “normal” range over the next year – is certainly vulnerable to build back up just as quickly as it disappeared.

Oct 11 - U.S. diesel prices hit 3-year low as farmers fear further harvest delays 
Diesel prices in the U.S. Midwest have sunk to a three-year seasonal low as farmers in the region face adverse weather conditions, further complicating an already delayed harvest season, traders and farmers said. Diesel demand typically rises during harvest season because farming equipment and trucks transporting product use the fuel. Average distillate product supplied, which includes diesel, in the United States for the past four weeks was down 7 percent, according to U.S. Energy Department data.

Oct 11 - India's August rice exports drop 29% on weak African demand - govt 
India's rice exports in August fell 29% year-on-year to 644,249 tonnes, government data showed on Thursday, due to weak demand from African countries for non-basmati rice, among other factors. "Demand from west African countries is weak for non-basmati rice. They have bought a lot from China and don't need to buy huge volumes now," said Nitin Gupta, vice president of Olam India's rice business.

Oct 11 - Argentine wheat crop estimate cut to 19.8 mln tonnes due to bad weather - exchange 
Argentina's 2019/20 wheat harvest is expected at 19.8 million tonnes, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in its weekly crop report on Thursday, citing bad weather as the reason for cutting its previous 21 million-tonne forecast. "Toward the center and south of the agricultural belt, the season has progressed practically without rains of considerable magnitude, and with temperatures below medium levels, which has compromised crop development," the report said.

Oct 11 - Brazil eager to boost share of global trade with new pacts - farm minister 
Brazil is eager to boost its share of global trade beyond the current level of 7% and that may be achieved by negotiating access to new markets, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said on Thursday. The government aims to forge trade agreements between the Mercosur South America trade bloc and countries including Canada, Japan and Singapore, Dias said at an international investment conference in São Paulo.

Oct 10 - FranceAgriMer raises wheat export outlook on trader optimism 
Farm office FranceAgriMer sharply increased its forecast for French soft wheat exports this season, pointing to optimism among traders that a big harvest and competitive prices would let France expand overseas sales. In supply and demand projections released on Wednesday, the agency raised its estimate of French soft wheat exports outside the European Union in 2019/20 to 11.7 million tonnes from 11.0 million seen last month.

 Oct 10 - China offering extra U.S. agriculture purchases - FT 
Chinese officials are offering to increase annual purchases of U.S. agricultural products as the two countries seek to resolve their trade dispute, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.  Vice Premier Liu He, China's top trade negotiator, is scheduled to travel to Washington for their next round of trade talks on Oct 10-11. 

 Oct 10 - Political uncertainty dents Argentine corn crop expectations - exchange 
Argentina is expected to harvest 47.5 million tonnes of corn this season, the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday, down from a previous estimate of 50 million tonnes as growers grapple with dry weather and political uncertainty favors soy planting. President Mauricio Macri, a proponent of low taxes and free markets who won office in 2015 with strong support from the farm sector, is expected to lose his bid for a second term in the Oct. 27 election. Front-runner Alberto Fernandez favors more government intervention in the economy. 

Oct 10 - China flies in 900 Danish breeding pigs to replenish herd 
One of China's top pig farming companies imported 906 breeding pigs from Denmark this week, China's customs said on Wednesday, in the first import of live pigs in a year. The animals bought by C.P. Pokphand Co, China's fifth largest pig producer, arrived on a charter flight in August and spent over a month in quarantine in Xiangyang city in central Hubei province, according to a report on the website of China's General Administration of Customs.

Oct 10 - Snow, freezing temperatures threaten northern U.S. corn, soybeans 
Plunging temperatures and heavy snow forecast for the upper U.S. Plains from Friday to Sunday are likely to damage unharvested corn and soybean crops in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, meteorologists said on Wednesday. The winter-like blast could dump up to 3 feet of snow in central and eastern North Dakota and send temperatures plunging into the 20s Fahrenheit in Nebraska, western Iowa, southwest Minnesota and the Dakotas, said Kyle Tapley, senior agricultural meteorologist with space technology company Maxar.

Oct 10 - Dryness forces some Brazil soy farmers to replant; delays in second crop seen 
Scarce rainfall in Brazil's main soybean producing regions at the start of the season will result in the replanting of some areas where farmers risked sowing with low moisture, according to weather experts. Lack of rain is causing soybean planting delays and can exacerbate the risk of delays in planting of Brazil's second crop - either corn or cotton - which farmers typically sow after the oilseed is harvested.

Oct 10 - South America forest fires could disrupt rainfall in region's farm belt - experts 
Forest fires that swept across Bolivia and Brazil this year could disrupt rainfall distribution across South America's grains-and-beef producing regions in unpredictable ways for years to come, a scientist and meteorologist said. Recent rains in both countries have helped put out the wildfires, which were likely started by farmers and ranchers using slash-and-burn agricultural methods. 

Oct 10 - Brazil's BRF maintains Gulf meat supply despite Abu Dhabi plant audit 
Brazilian food processor BRF SA confirmed on Wednesday that its plant in Abu Dhabi was being audited and that Saudi Arabia had restricted buying of some of its products, but it was still supplying Gulf markets. BRF, which did not immediately name the auditing body involved, said the restrictions to sell to Saudi Arabia affect only a fraction of its business in the Gulf region.

Oct 09 - Rain boosts prospects for western European crop sowing 
Recent rain has brought relief to parched western European grain belts and improved conditions for cereal sowing and for earlier-sown rapeseed crops, analysts and traders said.  Limited rain and scorching summer temperatures had hampered early rapeseed sowing and raised fears of a repeat of drought losses seen during last year's planting season. 

 Oct 09 - U.S. senators call for probe of Brazilian meatpacker JBS 
Two U.S. senators called on the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday to open an investigation into the world's largest meat processing company, Brazil's JBS S.A., due to alleged ties with the Venezuelan government of leftist President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump's government has imposed sanctions on dozens of top Venezuelan officials as well as state oil company PDVSA in an effort to remove Maduro, whom it accuses of fixing elections last year and abusing human rights in the oil-rich nation. 

 Oct 09 - U.S. corn, soy output is basically settled, according to analysts - Braun 
Some market participants have been waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to finally acknowledge that the 2019 U.S. corn and soybean harvests will not be as large as the agency has previously stated, primarily due to historically late planting and crop development. But industry analysts polled ahead of USDA’s next update, set for Thursday at noon EDT (1600 GMT), do not see an extraordinary amount of further downside for the harvests. The ranges of ideas are also relatively narrow.

 Oct 09 - French wheat exporters see Morocco imports at 3.8 mln T 
French wheat exporters said on Tuesday they expected Moroccan imports of soft wheat to rise to 3.8 million tonnes in the 2019/2020 season, with France supplying 65% of that.  Last season, Morocco imported 2.6 million tonnes of soft wheat, according to Morocco's grains and cereals agency (ONICL). 

Oct 08 - China buys more U.S. soybeans ahead of trade talks - USDA 
The U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday reported more soybean exports to China, the latest in a flurry of buying the world's top buyer of the oilseed has done ahead of high-level trade negotiations with the United States.  USDA said that exporters reported the sale of 198,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery in the 2019/20 marketing year that began on Sept. 1. Another 240,000 tonnes of soybeans were sold for shipment to unknown destinations, which traders have said often refers to China. 

 Oct 08 - Louis Dreyfus sees tough year as trade war, swine fever hit profits 
Agricultural commodity giant Louis Dreyfus warned on Monday that international trade tensions and a swine disease epidemic would continue to weigh on its activities in the rest of the year after pushing down first-half profit. The interim results reversed a rebound in group profits in the second half of last year and showed the pressures on trading firms as they try to emerge from a period of falling margins for sourcing and shipping crops such as cereals and oilseeds. 

Oct 08 - U.S.-Japan trade deal aims to put U.S. farmers on par with Trans-Pacific trade pact competitors 
The new U.S.-Japan trade deal will provide staged reduction of Japanese tariffs for more than $2 billion worth of U.S. beef and pork, matching access now granted to the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact countries, a text of the agreement shows. U.S. President Donald Trump presided over a White House signing ceremony on Monday for the final text of the limited bilateral trade pact, more then 2-1/2 years after he pulled the United States out of the much broader TPP. 

Oct 08 - U.S. corn exports remain dismal, but soy shipments lifted by China -Braun 
U.S. soybean exporters had a record fourth quarter and corn shipments slumped to a six-year low. But overseas demand for U.S. corn is starting off the new marketing year on an even worse note, while the soybean market hopes for renewed Chinese business. The United States exported 4.93 million tonnes of soybeans in August, a record for the month and the third consecutive monthly record, according to data published on Friday by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Oct 08 - Trump says ethanol deal will be around 16 billion gallons 
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration's proposal to boost the biofuels market next year would bring the amount of corn-based ethanol mixed into the nation's fuel to about 16 billion gallons (60.6 billion liters). "We’ve come to an agreement and its going to be, I guess, about, getting close to 16 billion ... that’s a lot of gallons. So they should like me out in Iowa," he told a news conference.

Oct 08 - Iraq replaces the head of its state grain agency 
Iraq, a major Middle East wheat and rice importer, has replaced the head of its state grain buying agency, government sources and a document showed on Tuesday.  Naeem al-Maksousi was replaced by Hassanein Mahdi Elwan, a document reviewed by Reuters showed. The reason for the replacement, which comes after a week of unrest in Iraq in which more than 100 people have been killed, was not clear. 

Oct 08 - Crop Watch: Soybean yields disappoint in Illinois but shock in Ohio -Braun 
U.S. Crop Watch growers in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest reported no harvest activity in their areas last week due to wet weather. Meanwhile, soybean results in the east have been highly mixed, with a poor outcome in Illinois and a surprisingly high yield in Ohio. Four of the 16 Crop Watch fields were harvested as of Sunday. The soybeans in Illinois and Ohio were cut last week as was the corn in Indiana. The Kansas corn was harvested in the previous week.

Oct 08 - Brazil soy planting off to slowest start in six years - report 
Brazilian farmers have planted 3.1% of the estimated soybean area for the 2019/2020 crop, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, blaming a lack of rain for the slowest start to the season in six years. At this time in 2018, Brazilian growers had sowed 9.5% of the fields, the consultancy said. It added that thanks to some rain in key stakes like Paraná and Mato Grosso, farmers had advanced soy planting from the level of only 0.9% of the area seen in the previous week.

Oct 07 - Trump administration promises biofuel boost to farmers, angering Big Oil 
The Trump administration on Friday unveiled a plan to boost U.S. biofuels consumption starting next year to help struggling farmers, a move that cheered the agriculture industry but triggered a backlash from Big Oil. The plan would require an unspecified increase in the amount of ethanol that oil refiners must add to their fuel in 2020, and would also aim to remove further barriers to the sale of higher ethanol blends of gasoline like E15, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement.

 Oct 07 - Russia's deputy PM returns to idea of grain OPEC creation - Interfax 
A Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of agriculture has proposed the creation of a grain organisation along the lines of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing his office. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, is one of the world's largest oil producers, but is not a member of OPEC.

 Oct 07 - JBS USA to produce pork without growth drug banned by China, seeking more exports  
JBS USA will remove a growth drug banned by Beijing from its U.S. hog supply, the company said on Friday, accelerating the competition for pork exports as China grapples with a devastating pig disease. The meat packer's move away from the drug ractopamine, a feed additive, shows how companies are maneuvering to take advantage of an expected shortage in China, the world's largest pork consumer, due to African swine fever (ASF). 

 Oct 07 - Funds dump CBOT soy shorts on shrinking U.S. supply, China optimism - Braun 
Lighter U.S. stocks and renewed buying interest from China had speculators quickly changing their minds about Chicago-traded soybeans last week, as they slashed their pessimism toward the oilseed to an eight-month low.  U.S. corn stocks also shocked the market to the downside, but while investors acted accordingly, their views remain steadfastly bearish as Chicago futures are still elevated for the time of year.

 Oct 07 - Meat industry sues California for animal protection 'overreach' 
California was sued on Friday by the largest U.S. trade group for meat packers and processors, which wants to block enforcement of a voter-approved measure requiring farmers to provide more space for animals being raised for food. The North American Meat Institute, whose members include processors such as Tyson Foods and retailers including Walmart, said enforcing Proposition 12 would hurt producers and consumers by significantly increasing their costs.

 Oct 07 - In Argentina's Pampas, rain clouds spell hope for arid soils 
Gastón Blanchard, a farmer in Argentina's Pampas grains belt, has his eyes on the horizon waiting for rain. Clouds are starting to build, which he hopes will bring much-needed showers for his wheat crop, parched by months of dry weather. A lot is hanging on the rains for Blanchard - and Argentina, one of the world's top sellers of soybeans and a key player in wheat and corn. Drought two seasons ago badly damaged crops, while favorable weather drove record harvests earlier this year.

Oct 07 - Brazil's Mato Grosso soy planting hits 6.65% of area, below last year 
Soy farmers in Brazil's largest growing state of Mato Grosso have planted 6.65% of the estimated area so far for the 2019/2020 soy crop, below the 12.6% level seen at this time last year due to scarce rainfall, state research institute Imea said on Friday.  Mato Grosso farmers, who harvested an estimated 32.45 million tonnes of the oilseed in the last crop, had planted 1.7% of the estimated area last week, Imea said.

Oct 07 - U.S. 2019 corn yield estimate lowered to 167.5 bu/acre - IEG Vantage document 
Private analytics firm IEG Vantage, formerly known as Informa Economics IEG, on Friday lowered its forecast of the average U.S. 2019 corn yield to 167.5 bushels per acre (bpa), from 169.6 a month ago, according to an IEG client note seen by Reuters. The firm estimated corn production at 13.695 billion bushels, compared with its Sept. 6 figure of 13.906 billion.

Oct 07 - Where the U.S.-Japan trade deal falls short of Trans-Pacific pact abandoned by Trump 
U.S. President Donald Trump has called his new trade deal with Japan a "phenomenal" victory for U.S. farmers. But don't expect America's Land O'Lakes butter to knock New Zealand's Anchor or France's President brands off store shelves in Japan, the world's third largest economy.

Oct 04 - USDA announces U.S. soybean sale, rare white wheat deal to China 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported more U.S. soybean purchases by China on Thursday, the second consecutive daily confirmation of sales to the world's top soy importer, as well as a rare Chinese purchase of U.S. white wheat. The soybean confirmation comes after a flurry of buying earlier this week by importers that sources said were granted up to 2 million tonnes in exemptions from steep tariffs on U.S. shipments.

 Oct 04 - Yes whey! U.S. touts dairy product to Chinese hog farmers fighting swine fever
When Beijing announced it was exempting 16 U.S. goods from retaliatory tariffs, Chinese firms hurried to call Proliant Dairy Ingredients in the heart of American farm country. Among the products included in China's first batch of exemptions last month was whey permeate for animal feed, a dairy byproduct sold by Iowa-based Proliant.

 Oct 04 - Trump administration likely to announce details of biofuels deal by Friday - sources
The Trump administration is expected to announce by Friday details of a U.S. biofuels policy deal to help farmers angry over waivers granted to refiners exempting them from using corn-based ethanol and other biofuels, four sources familiar with the matter said. The White House has held weeks of discussions with farm- and oil-state senators and executives at oil refiners and officials at biofuels producers.

Oct 04 - Brazil still in need of rain as soybean planting plods along -Braun
Brazil officially began the soybean planting season in mid-September, but it has been slower than normal this year due to the dry conditions, and the forecasts are still not certain when farmers will be out of the woods. On Tuesday, No. 2 producer Parana in the country’s south reported about 10% of the intentions had been planted. That is the slowest start in seven years and well off last year’s record pace of 29%.

Oct 04 - New tariffs on EU food will boost prices, cost U.S. jobs - industry 
New 25% U.S. tariffs on Italian cheese, French wine, Scotch whisky, British biscuits, Spanish olives and thousands of other European food products will lead to higher prices ahead of the holiday season and cost American jobs, trade groups said on Thursday. The U.S. Trade Representative's Office said on Wednesday it was imposing tariffs on hundreds of European products after the World Trade Organization gave the green light to the action in response to EU subsidies on large aircraft.

Oct 04 - Ukraine scraps formal cap on wheat exports in favour of monthly monitoring
Ukraine has scrapped its formal cap on wheat exports in the July 2019 to June 2020 season, with the agriculture ministry instead monitoring market conditions on a monthly basis to ensure domestic supply is adequate. The ministry signed on Thursday its annual memorandum with grains traders, setting terms for wheat exports for the current season.

Oct 04 - Over 20% of Argentina's 2019/20 corn crop planted, wheat harvest starts
About 20.6% of Argentina's 2019/20 corn crop has been planted so far while the season's wheat harvest has begun in early-planted northern farm areas, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in its weekly report on Thursday. Argentine growers are expected to sow a total 6.4 million hectares with corn this season, according to exchange estimates.

Oct 03 - Ships with 1 mln tonnes of grain stuck outside Iran's ports in payment crisis 
More than 20 ships carrying around one million tonnes of grain are stuck outside Iranian ports as U.S. sanctions create payment problems and hamper the country's efforts to import vital commodities, sources directly involved in the trade said. Trading companies such as Bunge and China’s COFCO International have been hit by payment delays and additional costs of up to $15,000 a day as the renewed U.S. restrictions stifle the processing of transactions, trade sources said.

 Oct 03 - Trump's EPA may use partial refinery waivers under biofuel deal -sources 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may use partial small refinery exemptions under the Trump administration's biofuels deal to help farmers and boost ethanol consumption, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The move would be aimed at reducing the impact of the waivers, which free refineries from their obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard - a law requiring ethanol and other biofuels be blended into the nation's gasoline.

 Oct 03 - USDA confirms 464,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans sold to China 
Private exporters sold 464,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for shipment in the 2019/20 marketing year that began Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Wednesday, the latest in a flurry of purchases by the world's top soy importer. The USDA announcement was expected after sources on Monday said that Chinese buyers had booked up to 600,000 tonnes in purchases for shipment from November to January as part of a tariff-free quota awarded to some importers.

 Oct 03 - China's hog herd may drop by 55% from fatal swine fever - Rabobank 
China's hog herd fell by half in the first eight months of 2019 due to a devastating outbreak of African swine fever and will likely shrink by 55% by the end of the year, analysts at Rabobank said on Wednesday. The pace of herd losses will likely slow in the coming months due to reduced farm numbers and Chinese government measures to control the pig disease in the world's largest pork consumer, according to a report by Rabobank. However, the bank said relatively unstable market conditions will likely persist for the next three to five years.

Oct 03 - U.S. farmers receive $14.03 billion so far in government trade aid 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has so far paid farmers $14.03 billion of a promised $28 billion as compensation for the effects of Washington's trade disputes with China, an agency official told Reuters on Wednesday. The agency has paid $5.43 billion from its latest round of trade aid - up from $4.07 billion in mid-September - as of Monday, USDA Communications Director Michawn Rich said in an email. The agency also has paid out $8.6 billion in the first round of its Market Facilitation Program to date, she said.

Oct 03 - Brazil sells second corn faster than last season on FX rates, firm pricing 
Brazilian corn growers have already traded about a quarter of their second corn crop, which is planted after soybeans are collected from fields, according to estimates from an agribusiness consultancy released on Wednesday. A favorable exchange rate and firmer prices at this point in the 2019/2020 season are driving the faster sales, INTL FCStone said. At this time last year, forward corn sales were below 20% of the estimated crop, analyst Gabriela Fontanari said.

Oct 03 - Co-owner of Russian port terminal in talks with new investors as COFCO withdraws 
Russia's Deloports, which owns 75% of KSK grain terminal in Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, has started talks with new potential buyers of a stake in the terminal after Chinese grain trader COFCO withdrew from talks, Deloports told Reuters. KSK is one of Russia's largest Black Sea grain export terminals, which the world's largest wheat exporter is using to supply the grain to customers in North Africa and the Middle East. U.S. trade giant Cargill owns 25% minus 2 shares in it.

Oct 02 - Brazil meatpacker BRF admits to bribing inspectors with money, benefits 
Brazilian meatpacker BRF SA has admitted to bribing food inspectors with bank deposits and health benefits, police said on Tuesday, although the company itself avoided raids as it was cooperating with the latest phase of the corruption probe. Police said the fourth phase of the so-called Weak Flesh investigation involved evidence from the company of some 19 million reais ($4.56 million) in bribes paid up until 2017, when BRF overhauled its management.

 Oct 02 - Trump administration close to finalizing biofuel deal - sources 
The Trump administration is close to finalizing a deal that would boost U.S. biofuels consumption and is aiming to get it signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The policy change is intended to assuage anger in U.S. farm country, a key political constituency for Trump, after the administration exempted 31 oil refineries in August from their obligations under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard - a law requiring that corn-based ethanol and other biofuels be blended into the nation's fuel.

 Oct 02 - USDA's corn, soy stocks give market bulls the upper hand, for now -Braun 
Chicago corn and soybean futures have had a tough time weathering the U.S. government's agriculture reports in recent months due to overly bullish market expectations, despite the domestic harvests being poised to hit multi-year lows. But nobody saw Monday’s stock surprise coming, as most market participants had come to terms with excessively large supplies. U.S. corn and soybean stocks as of Sept. 1 both came in below the trade range of pre-report guesses, setting up a potentially friendly scenario headed into the next round of reports.

 Oct 02 - Egypt's GASC seeks wheat for Nov. 5-15 and/or Nov. 15-25 shipment 
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Tuesday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Nov. 5-15 and/or Nov. 15-25. GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said the authority was seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Paraguay and Serbia.

Oct 02 - Brazil meatpacker Minerva to create China joint venture 
Brazilian meatpacker Minerva SA said on Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to explore business opportunities involving beef in China. Minerva said in an exchange filing it signed the agreement with two "Chinese representatives" named Xuefang Chen and Wenbo Ge, who will be partners in the joint venture, without giving more details on the two people's identities.

Oct 02 - S.Korea confirms new cases of African swine fever in N.Korea border town 
South Korea on Wednesday confirmed two additional cases of African swine fever at pig farms in Paju, a town near its border with North Korea, the country's agriculture ministry said, bringing its total number of cases of the disease to eleven. South Korea is still looking into the source of the virus, but all of the cases have been found on hog farms near its border with North Korea, which reported an outbreak in May. 

Oct 02 - Brazil's Bolsonaro issues decree expanding farm credit 
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday signed a decree with a variety of measures to expand financing for farmers. The measures include the creation of a "fraternal" fund that will provide an estimated 5 billion reais ($1.20 billion) in additional credit for the sector, according to Rogerio Miranda, the Economy Ministry's subsecretary for agriculture policy.

Oct 01 - China buys U.S. soybeans as part of tariff-free quota ahead of trade talks - traders
Chinese firms bought up to 600,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans on Monday for shipment from November to January as part of a tariff-free quota allotted to the importers to buy up to 2 million tonnes this week, two sources with knowledge of the deals said. Monday's purchases come ahead of high-level U.S.-China trade talks, due to begin next week, aimed at ending a nearly 15-month trade war that has slashed U.S. agricultural exports and rattled global markets.

 Oct 01 - Brazil grain growers wary of dicamba as Bayer launches new GM soy seed
A genetically modified soy seed technology from Germany's Bayer set to launch soon in Brazil has sparked concern from some farmers who worry that other crops could be impacted by dicamba, a herbicide the biotech product is designed to tolerate. Widely used in the United States, dicamba has been described by farmers who have applied it as a volatile product that drifts off easily. As such, it may compromise non-tolerant soybeans, growers told Reuters.

 Oct 01 - Brazil's Bolsonaro fires land rights chief at urging of farm official - sources
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has fired the head of the agency responsible for rural land rights at the urging of an official backed by the country's powerful agriculture lobby, two sources told Reuters on Monday. The agency, known as Incra, is responsible for demarcating land for new farming settlements, often created on remote Brazilian land with no other owner, much of it in the Amazon rainforest.

 Oct 01 - Highest Indian monsoon rains in 25 years to boost winter crops
Monsoon rains in India were 10% above average in 2019 and the highest in 25 years as seasonal rainfall continued longer than expected, the weather department said on Monday. Extra June-September monsoon rainfall will help farmers expand areas under winter-sown crops such as wheat, rice rapeseed and chick peas, improving their earning potential and helping revive tepid rural demand that has stung Indian economic growth.

Oct 01 - Some items to keep in mind ahead of USDA's stocks, wheat report -Braun
Agriculture market participants know that U.S. corn and soybean supplies have been building to multi-decade and even record highs over the past year. Monday’s data from the U.S. government will likely cement that, and then analysts can finally look ahead to the supply cuts expected over the next year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will publish quarterly grain stocks and the annual small grains summary on Monday at noon EDT (1600 GMT). The stocks will reflect year-end supplies for U.S. corn and soybeans for 2018-19, which concluded on Aug. 31.

Oct 01 - Brazil soy planting sharply lagging last year's pace, says report
Soybean plantings in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of the oilseed, are sharply lagging the pace seen at this time last year and are also below the average pace seen in the last five seasons, a report showed on Monday. Excessive dryness in most agricultural areas in the southern and central regions in Brazil is delaying field work for the 2019/20 grains crop, and could also delay future sowings of the second corn crop, the country's main crop of the cereal. 

Sep 30 - Happy holidays? Not in China if frozen pork is on the table
China's supermarkets are topping up their meat counters with frozen pork from state reserves, after prices of the nation's favourite protein source surged to budget-busting levels, threatening to mar this week's National Day festivities. Pork, which has a prominent place at nearly every Chinese dinner table, is in short supply after a deadly virus infected and killed millions of hogs across China over the last year.

Sep 30 - Dryness in Argentina hits corn and wheat outlook; election haze supports safe-bet soy
Dryness in Argentina is hitting the outlooks for wheat and corn crops, local climate experts said, while low-cost soy is being supported by growers looking to hedge their bets with political uncertainty rising ahead of October's presidential vote. While large regions of the grain exporter's Pampas farm belt are in good condition, around one-fifth of the growing area has been hit by arid weather over recent weeks, said Eduardo Sierra, meteorologist at the University of Buenos Aires.

 Sep 30 - Drought-hit Australian towns prepare for 'unimaginable' water crisis 
The little town of Guyra in eastern Australia lies next to a freshwater lagoon just half a day's drive from Sydney, but its drinking water is due to run dry in 400 days' time. The local authorities have been trucking in fresh water, built a pipeline to a local dam and will soon start drilling in the hope of finding new supplies. For Mayor Simon Murray, the biggest worry is that Guyra is not alone.

 Sep 30 - Southeast Asia catches swine fever, U.S. crop exporters get the chills
Last year, Southeast Asian farms offered a lifeline to U.S. grain exporters wounded in a bitter trade war with China. Now, African swine fever is set to tear through those markets, killing off business as surely as the fatal disease decimates vast herds of pigs once raised on U.S. crops. U.S. feed crop exports to countries like Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines surged nearly 50% last year to a record 12.3 million tonnes. That helped to cushion the blow of a slump that wiped out nearly three-quarters of China sales of the same crops as Washington and Beijing exchanged tit-for-tat trade tariffs.

Sep 30 - Funds keep bearish corn, soy views while awaiting cues on direction - Braun
Speculators eased their bearish views on corn and soybeans last week, but their willingness to place any optimistic bets on the Chicago-traded commodities is at multi-year lows. Corn futures have traded sideways for the last couple of weeks, with the December contract settling at $3.71-1/2 per bushel on Friday. That is a four-year high for the end of September.

Sep 30 - Australia's Nufarm sells S.American assets for $800 mln to repay debt
Australia's Nufarm will sell its South American crop protection and seed treatment assets to its biggest shareholder, Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, for A$1.19 billion ($804.80 million) to help pay down debt amid a severe domestic drought. Nufarm shares rose as much as 56% on Monday morning, their best-ever intraday percentage gain, to a more than one-year high of A$6.94. They were later up 28%.

Sep 30 - French maize harvest moves slowly; wheat, barley sowing underway
French farmers had harvested just 3% of this year's grain maize area by Sept. 23, up from 1% a week earlier but well below 21% at the same time last year, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday. Growth of maize crops in France has been lagging the usual pace, while traders said the return of rain last weekend after a long dry spell would slow harvest work.

Sep 30 - India bans onion exports as prices stay elevated
India on Sunday banned exports of onions, a common ingredient in Indian cooking, as prices remain high due to a seasonal shortage which has been worsened by flooding in several states. The government said exports will be prohibited with immediate effect. 

Sep 30 - Brazil ships corn to the U.S. for the first time in 2019 - Reuters
Brazil this week shipped 60,000 tonnes of corn to the United States, according to Refinitiv data, an unusual export destination given the North American country's status as the largest producer and exporter of the cereal. The corn was exported by Cargill, ship scheduling information showed. Cargill confirmed the shipment, declining to elaborate.

Sep 30 - Snow to stall wheat, canola harvest in Canada, Montana
A weekend storm is poised to bring more than a foot (30.5 cm) of snow to parts of Montana and the Canadian prairies, putting portions of the region's spring wheat and canola crops at risk, a meteorologist said. Excessively wet conditions in the region this month have already slowed fieldwork and hurt spring wheat quality on both sides of the border. 

Sep 27 - Fatter pigs, new farms to boost China soymeal demand
China's pig farmers are raising fatter pigs to profit from soaring pork prices, boosting demand for key feed ingredient soymeal, and reducing some of the impact from a huge drop in the overall herd, said analysts and industry executives on Thursday. China's pig herd shrunk by 38% in August compared with a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, with a year-long epidemic of African swine fever killing millions of pigs and putting farmers off rebuilding herds.

 Sep 27 - For U.S. beef exporters, Japan trade deal levels playing field but sales surge unlikely
U.S. beef exporters, unhappy after President Donald Trump pulled out of a multilateral trade pact in 2017, stand to sell more meat in Japan after the two sides cut a deal to slice into tariffs. But agriculture experts say that for now, that boost may be lean: exports of U.S. beef to Japan are already high enough to be close to a "safeguard" level at which higher tariffs kick in.

 Sep 27 - China buys more U.S. pork as fatal hog disease squeezes supplies
China last week made its biggest purchase of U.S. pork in two weeks, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday, as Beijing seeks to ease supply shortages caused by the spread of a fatal hog disease. The USDA is expected to confirm more Chinese purchases next week, traders said, after the world's biggest pork consumer and hog producer bought 3,375 tonnes of pork from Sept. 13-19.

 Sep 27 - Trump's impeachment battle could delay biofuels deal - industry sources
U.S. biofuel industry sources said on Thursday they were concerned that an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump could delay a pending deal on biofuels policy that is meant to boost demand for corn-based ethanol and biodiesel. Two weeks ago, Trump met with biofuel officials, farm- and oil-state senators and oil refining executives to hash out the details of a "giant package" related to ethanol that he had promised in August. While the groups seemed to be on the cusp of an agreement, Trump now finds himself mired in an intensifying partisan fight that could monopolize his attention for weeks, if not months. 

Sep 27 - Australia pledges $68 mln more in aid to drought-stricken farmers
Australia will set aside an additional A$100 million ($68 million) to support drought-stricken farmers as continued dry weather threatens business for many growers, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday. Australia's east coast will swelter for at least three more months and the country will experience hotter-than-normal conditions, putting the chance of exceeding average temperatures at 80% over the period, its weather bureau has said. 

Sep 27 - Commodities trader Cargill's quarterly profit rises 3% on beef, eggs demand
Global commodities trader Cargill Inc reported a 3% increase in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing strong consumer demand for meat and eggs in North America and growth in its animal nutrition businesses. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said its adjusted operating earnings rose to $908 million in the first fiscal quarter ended Aug. 31, from $883 million a year earlier.

Sep 27 - Syria makes second attempt to swap its durum for soft wheat
Syria has issued a new tender to exchange 100,000 tonnes of its durum wheat for the same quantity of soft wheat for bread making, after failing to agree a deal in an initial attempted swap for Russian wheat, a government source said on Thursday. Syria's General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob) originally issued a tender with a Sept. 17 deadline for offers, but no agreement was reached and the process was called off, the source said. 

Sep 27 - IGC cuts Australia 2019/20 grain crop outlook, raises EU
The International Grains Council on Thursday cut its forecast for Australia's grain crop in the 2019/20 season because of unfavourable weather but raised its outlook for the European Union to a four-year high. In its monthly update, the inter-governmental body, put Australia's grain crop at 31.0 million tonnes, down from a previous forecast of 34.2 million but still above the prior season's 28.3 million.

Sep 26 - China seen buying 6 mln T of US soybeans ahead of trade talks - analyst
China will complete purchases of about 20 million tonnes of soybeans from the United States by the time a new round of trade talks starts in early October, said Li Qiang, chief analyst at influential consulting company Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd. Given China has already bought 14 million tonnes of the oilseed from the United States this year, Li's comment suggests an additional 6 million tonnes will be purchased during the current round of purchasing that began in recent weeks as part of a Beijing-backed goodwill gesture.

 Sep 26 - Japan deal nice for U.S. ag but China is the much bigger prize - Braun
U.S. President Donald Trump has been eager to deliver a win to American farmers and ranchers ever since entering a trade war with Beijing more than a year ago. While Wednesday's agreement with Japan has potential to lift U.S. exports, opening agricultural trade back up with China would undoubtedly be the bigger and much-needed victory. The United States and Japan signed a limited trade deal on Wednesday that cuts tariffs on U.S. farm goods, Japanese machine tools and other products. Trump said this would open Japanese markets to about $7 billion in U.S. agricultural products, including beef, pork, wheat and cheese.

 Sep 26 - Cargill creates new business unit focused on animal, human health
Global commodities trader Cargill Inc is launching a new business unit focused on animal and human health products as part of a reorganization of its animal nutrition business, the company told Reuters on Wednesday. Cargill said its animal nutrition and health group will now consist of three units: Cargill Animal Nutrition, combining its existing feed, nutrition and pre-mix businesses; Cargill Aqua Nutrition; and the new Cargill Health Technologies.

 Sep 26 - NZ's Fonterra looks to home for growth after record loss
New Zealand's Fonterra called a halt to an ambitious and ill-fated overseas expansion on Thursday, announcing plans to phase out overseas milk production centres, as the world's biggest dairy exporter reported a record annual loss. Unveiling a long-awaited "back to basics" strategy, Fonterra pledged to cut debt by focusing on domestic production as it acknowledged mistakes were made under previous management.

Sep 26 - China sees pig production capacity recovering
China's pig production capacity is gradually recovering thanks to government support, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday. Yang Zhenhai, chief of the ministry's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Bureau, said the recovery was down to an African swine fever epidemic stabilising in late September, and as various policies came into effect.

Sep 26 - Russia's Phosagro to boost output to conquer new markets
Russia's Phosagro plans to increase production of fertilisers to conquer new markets in Europe, the Americas and at home, it said on Wednesday. One of the world's largest producers of phosphate-based fertilisers, Phosagro plans to boost production of fertilisers and feed phosphates to 11.7 million tonnes by 2025 from 9.4–9.5 million tonnes in 2019, it said.

Sep 25 - China gives waivers to importers to buy U.S. soy exempt from tariffs - sources 
China has given new waivers to several importers to buy U.S. soybeans exempt from retaliatory tariffs, in a goodwill gesture ahead of high-level trade talks next month, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The waivers, offered in two batches, total around 5 million to 6 million tonnes, according to one of the sources. They came as China returned to the U.S. soybean market this month. 

 Sep 25 - U.S. EPA granted full biofuel waivers to refineries despite Energy Dept advice - memo
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted some refineries full waivers from biofuels regulation for the 2018 compliance year, even though the Department of Energy had recommended partial exemptions, according to an EPA memo seen by Reuters. The decision upset the powerful U.S. corn lobby, already angry at the Trump administration's move in August to grant 31 full exemptions to refineries, freeing them from an at-times costly obligation to use biofuels such as corn-based ethanol.

 Sep 25 - COFCO to invest more in Brazil, but will be selective, says exec
Chinese state-owned commodities trader COFCO INTL plans to continue to invest in Brazil in the near future after having quickly achieved a significant position in the local commodities market, but will be very selective in choosing next targets. COFCO sources and trades grains, oilseeds, sugar, coffee and cotton in Brazil, where it hosts most of its 36 Latin American warehouses, eight food processing plants and 10 port terminals.

Sep 25 - Lack of rain, late frosts hit Argentina's 2019/20 wheat crops - grains exchange
A lack of rainfall and late frosts over Argentina's main wheat-producing region are already leading to drop in crop yields, the Rosario grains exchange said on Tuesday. Argentina, a major global wheat exporter, had reported 6.87 million hectares (17 million acres) of growth in the planting area for the 2019/20 season.

Sep 25 - New Zealand's Fonterra sells its 50% stake in DFE Pharma for $400 million
New Zealand's Fonterra on Wednesday agreed to sell its 50% stake in DFE Pharma for NZ$633 million ($400.37 million) as the world's biggest dairy exporter trims its overseas portfolio to focus on domestic business. The cash from the sale, along with proceeds from other asset sales through the year including its Tip Top ice cream brand, will help the dairy firm to reduce debt by over NZ$1 billion at a time when it has written down several of its overseas assets. 

Sep 25 - South Korea confirms fifth case of African swine fever
South Korea confirmed on Tuesday its fourth and fifth cases of African swine fever at hog farms near its northern border, just a week after it first discovered an instance of the disease. Not harmful to humans but nearly 100% fatal to pigs, it has spread across both Koreas, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines since first being detected in China in mid-2018, resulting in large-scale culls and lower pork output. 

Sep 25 - India's cotton exports falter due to higher local prices - dealers
Indian traders have been struggling to sign export contracts for the new season crop as local prices are prevailing above global prices after New Delhi raised the minimum buying price to support farmers, an industry official said. Lower exports by the world's biggest cotton producer in 2019/20 season starting from Oct. 1 could support global prices and help rivals such as the United States and Brazil increase cargoes to key Asian buyers such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Sep 25 - Ukraine 2019/20 grain exports reach 12.4 mln T - ministry
Ukraine's grain exports have risen to about 12.4 million tonnes so far in the 2019/20 July-June export season, up from 8.3 million tonnes over the same period last year, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. The volume includes 7.7 million tonnes of wheat, 2.8 million tonnes of barley and 1.9 million tonnes of corn, the ministry statement said.

Sep 25 - France's Avril, Terrena team up to produce organic oil and meal
French oilseed group Avril and farm cooperative Terrena will launch a new business next year to produce meal for animal feed and organic vegetable oil, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The project, called Oleosyn Bio, aims to secure supplies and prices over several years, the two groups said.

Sep 25 - NZ funds manuka honey trademark bid, leaving Australia with sour taste
The New Zealand government is supporting a bid by the country's honey producers to trademark the name "manuka" in China, angering Australian rivals who fear losing out in their joint biggest market for the lucrative product. New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said on Wednesday the producers' application to Beijing's Intellectual Property Court would protect the hard work of Kiwi manuka producers.

Sep 24 - Trump questions Mnuchin over request Chinese delay U.S. farm trip
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday questioned a decision by his top trade negotiators to ask Chinese officials to delay a planned trip to U.S. farming regions after trade talks last week, saying he wanted China to buy more American farm products. Trump, speaking alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, questioned him about the request that the Chinese delay a trip to meet with U.S. farmers in Montana and Nebraska. Mnuchin had said the trip was delayed at the administration's request to avoid confusion over the talks.

 Sep 24 - China approves seven Argentine soy crushers for meal exports
China has approved soymeal exports from seven soybean crushing plants in Argentina, the South American country's agriculture ministry said on Monday. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Argentina, the top soymeal supplier, announced that China, the world's biggest soymeal consumer, would allow imports from the country for the first time following decades of talks. 

 Sep 24 - C.P. plans bigger, cleaner pig farms after disease devastates Chinese herd
C.P. Pokphand Co, one of China's top five pig producers, is speeding up expansion of its business, said the company's chief executive, after a year-long outbreak of disease devastated an industry worth $140 billion last year. The company, part of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, plans to raise 10 million pigs a year by 2021, up from 4 million currently, Bai Shanlin told Reuters in an interview.

 Sep 24 - Crop Watch: Dryness nicks soy hopes in the east while rain plagues west - Braun
Late-planted U.S. corn and soybeans have avoided early freeze thus far with warmer-than-normal temperatures, but the weather has not been perfect. Excessive rain has been a headache in the western and northern areas, while the Crop Watch producers in the Eastern Corn Belt have been concerned about the recent dry weather, especially for the finishing of soybeans. Crop Watch 2019 follows one corn and one soybean field in eight major U.S. Corn Belt states, reporting on weekly progress as of Sunday. The fields belong to the same eight growers from last year’s Crop Watch. 

 Sep 24 - India's state-run cotton buyer could ramp up purchases to support prices
India's state-run cotton buyer could purchase as much as 10 million bales from farmers in the 2019/20 season to support prices amid an expected sharp increase in production, the head of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) said on Monday. That would be nearly 10 times CCI's cotton purchases in the 2018/19 season, which ends on Sept. 30.

 Sep 24 - Brazil's tariff-free wheat import quota seen implemented in November
Brazil plans to introduce a 750,000-tonne tariff-free quota for wheat imports from countries outside of the South American Mercosur trade bloc in November, a government official said on Monday. Flavio Bettarello, the agriculture ministry's assistant secretary for trade and foreign relations, told an industry conference that enforcing the new tariff-free quota could help Brazil add new suppliers, including the United States and Russia.

Sep 24 - South Korea confirms new cases of African swine fever
South Korea has confirmed new cases of African swine fever at hog farms in cities near the capital Seoul after the country's first outbreak of the deadly virus last week, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The new case occurred at a pig farm with about 1,800 pigs in the city of Gimpo, nearly 14 km south of the city of Paju where the country's first case was confirmed on Sept. 17, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

Sep 24 - Philippines mulls safeguard duty on rice as import surge hurts farmers
The Philippines said on Monday it is considering imposing a safeguard duty on rice to ease the pain of local farmers hurting from a surge in imports of the staple grain. The Southeast Asian nation, which is one of the world's biggest rice importers and often buys grains from its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, lifted a two-decade-old cap on purchases early this year and replaced it with tariffs. 

Sep 24 - Russia's Uralkali, Uralchem to buy Brazil's Fertilizantes Heringer
Russian fertilizer and chemical companies Uralkali and Uralchem have agreed with Fertilizantes Heringer SA to become controlling shareholders in the Brazilian firm that is now under bankruptcy protection. In a securities filing, Fertilizantes Heringer said the Russian companies would buy the Brazilian firm's shares for 2 reais ($0.4796) each in a deal that would result in a capital increase of up to $110 million.

Sep 23 - China Aug pork imports jump 76% as disease decimates local supply - customs
China's pork imports rose 76% in August from the same month a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday, as the world's top consumer of the meat stocked up on supplies after a deadly disease decimated its pig herd. China took in 162,935 tonnes of pork last month, data from the General Administration of Customs shows, up 76% from August 2018 but down from July's 182,227 tonnes.  

 Sep 23 - Chinese farm official says 'good outcome' from trade talks - state media
China did not cancel planned visits to farms in the United States because of challenges in trade negotiations with the U.S., the country's senior agricultural representative in the talks said, according to a report by state-backed media group Yicai on Sunday, who added the talks last week achieved a "good outcome." Chinese officials on Friday unexpectedly cancelled visits to farms in Montana and Nebraska scheduled for this week, as deputy trade negotiators wrapped up two days of talks in Washington, casting further uncertainty over a Sino-U.S. trade deal. 

 Sep 23 - Funds slash bearish soy bets on U.S.-China trade hopes, but corn selling persists - Braun
Speculators were net sellers of Chicago-traded corn last week for the ninth week in a row, though they drastically reduced bearishness in soybeans on U.S.-China trade hopes. That optimism soured somewhat on Friday, but the ongoing trade talks and the finishing of U.S. corn and soybean crops continue to be primary focal points in grain and oilseed markets. In the week ended Sept. 17, hedge funds and other money managers increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures and options to 170,626 contracts from 136,399 a week prior, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

Sep 23 - U.S., Canadian spring wheat quality hurt by wet harvest conditions
Excessively wet conditions in the northern U.S. Plains and Canadian Prairies have hurt the quality of the region's spring and durum wheat crops, potentially tightening supplies of top grades of the grains, handlers and agronomists said. Rains and heavy dew have slowed the harvest and, worse, caused mature, un-harvested wheat kernels in some areas to begin to sprout, severely damaging quality and triggering steep discounts from grain buyers of $1 or more per bushel.

Sep 23 - Argentine farmers 'sailing without a compass' amid political uncertainty, dry weather
Unusually dry weather is making Argentine farmers nervous as they wait for October rains to revive parched corn crops, adding to uncertainty around next month's presidential election that could see business-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri lose power. Growers, many of whom are concerned at the prospect of the left returning to power in the Oct. 27 general election, started planting corn this month. They have begun to worry that dryness might hobble this season's crop and cut into wheat yields.

Sep 23 - India rains to be above average for first time in 6 years - officials
India is likely to receive above-average monsoon rains in 2019 for the first time in six years as seasonal rainfall continues longer than expected, two senior weather department officials told Reuters, in a boon for the country's cooling economy. Extra rainfall will help farmers expand areas under winter-sown crops such as wheat, rice rapeseed and chickpea, improving their earnings down the line and helping revive tepid rural demand that has stung Indian economic growth.

Sep 23 - Russia ups wheat quality, opens door to Saudi trade - official
Russia has lowered levels of insect damage in its wheat in recent years and improved the overall quality of the crop, opening the door to supply markets such as Saudi Arabia, Russia's state Grain Quality Centre said on Friday. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, has long sought access to Saudi Arabia as it aims to win a bigger share of Middle Eastern and North African markets from the European Union and United States.

Sep 23 - Tanzania sees 2019/20 cashew nut output up 33 percent - minister
Tanzania expects to raise cashew nuts production by 33.5% in the year to September 2020, helped by favourable weather conditions and increased plantings, its agriculture minister said on Saturday. Output in 2019/2020(October-September) is seen reaching 300,000 tonnes, up from the 225,000 tonnes produced in the 2018/2019 season.

Sep 23 - South Africa maize expected to be slightly higher than previous estimate - poll
South Africa's 2019 maize harvest forecast is expected to be 0.17% higher than August's estimate on better yields and early deliveries, a Reuters survey showed on Friday. The government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) is expected to peg the harvest at 11.035 million tonnes, up from its August estimate of 11.016 million tonnes, a poll of five traders and market analysts showed.

Sep 20 - China green lights eight Argentine meat plants for beef exports 
China's customs office said on Thursday it had granted export licenses to some Argentine meat-processing plants, as the Asian country looks to plug a supply gap after an African swine fever outbreak decimated China's pig herds. The customs office said in an email to Reuters it has made checks on meat exporters in the South American country recommended by the Argentinian government lately, but did not specify which companies were approved.

Sep 20 - Relief coming for Brazil's parched corn, soy areas, but trend must continue - Braun 
Brazil’s primary corn and soybean growing regions are historically dry as planting for the 2019-20 cycle begins. Rains should begin soon though weather forecasts disagree on the intensity, but either way, analysts see both upcoming harvests hitting new records early next year. A week ago, a Reuters poll of 12 forecasters predicted the 2019-20 soybean crop at an all-time high 122.62 million tonnes on a 2.1% expansion in area over last year, the smallest rise in area in 13 years. On Wednesday, a nine-analyst poll pegged Brazil’s new corn crop at 102.3 million tonnes on a 3.4% increase in area. 

 Sep 20 - North Korea faces lowest crop harvest in 5 years, widespread food shortages - U.N. 
North Korea's crop production this year is expected to drop to its lowest level in five years, bringing serious shortages for 40% of the population, as a dry spell and poor irrigation hit an economy already reeling from sanctions over its weapons programmes, the United Nations said on Thursday. In its latest quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the poor harvest of the country's main crops, rice and maize, means 10.1 million people are in urgent need of assistance.

 Sep 20 - Dry weather delays sowing of Ukraine winter grain, Russia also needs rain 
Dry weather across most of Ukraine has delayed the sowing of winter grain for next year's crop in one of the top Black Sea grain exporters, the nation's weather forecaster said. Ukraine and its rival on Black Sea grain exports, Russia, are both looking for rains in coming weeks. In Russia, though, the sowing is still running ahead of the last year's pace.

 Sep 20 - Argentine farmers 'sailing without a compass' amid political uncertainty, dry weather
Unusually dry weather is making Argentine farmers nervous as they wait for October rains to revive parched corn crops, adding to uncertainty around next month's presidential election that could see business-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri lose power. Growers, many of whom are concerned at the prospect of the left returning to power in the Oct. 27 general election, started planting corn this month. They have begun to worry that dryness might hobble this season's crop and cut into wheat yields.

Sep 20 - 'Very engaged' Trump talks biofuels policy with U.S. oil-state senators
President Donald Trump on Thursday discussed biofuels policy with senators from U.S. oil states, including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who said the president was engaged on the issue that has pitted Big Oil and Big Corn against each other. The oil industry is opposed to the Trump administration's tentative plan to boost annual ethanol usage mandates.

Sep 20 - Strategie Grains raises EU wheat harvest, export outlook again  
Strategie Grains increased its forecasts sharply for EU soft wheat production and exports for the second month in a row, pointing to strong harvest results in France and Britain and brisk shipments from Romania and Bulgaria. The French-based consultancy now sees 2019/20 soft wheat production in the 28-country European Union at 144.5 million tonnes, up from 142.9 million tonnes projected in August and about 14% above last year's drought-hit crop, it said in a monthly grain report.

Sep 20 - Chinese officials to visit U.S. farmland as trade talks continue - U.S. agriculture chief 
A Chinese delegation will visit American farm regions with U.S. officials next week in an effort to build goodwill amid ongoing trade negotiations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters on Thursday. "They want to see the production of agriculture. I think they want to build goodwill," Perdue said, adding that it was unclear where specifically they would visit.

Sep 20 - African swine fever spreads to Philippine capital Manila 
Blood samples from pigs in backyard farms in the Philippine capital Manila tested positive for African swine fever, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday, less than two weeks after it declared the country's first outbreak of the disease. The Bureau of Animal Industry has tested and confirmed the African swine fever virus in blood samples from two areas in Quezon City, a part of Metro Manila, said the agriculture department's spokesman, Noel Reyes.

Sep 19 - China customs says approves some Argentina meat plants for shipments  
China's customs said on Monday that it has approved some Argentina meat processing plants for exports, the General Customs Office said in an email to Reuters. The customs office also said it has made checks on meat exporters in the South American country recommended by the Argentinian government lately.

 Sep 19 - Egypt's GASC buys 180,000 tonnes of Russian wheat in tender
Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC,) said on Wednesday it bought 180,000 tonnes of Russian wheat in a purchase tender for shipment Oct. 21-31. GASC did not purchase any of the cargoes on offer for a second shipping period between Nov. 1-10. GASC had set a tender on Tuesday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers over two shipment periods.

 Sep 19 - Trump to meet with U.S. senators Thursday over biofuels policy
President Donald Trump will meet on Thursday with U.S. senators to discuss biofuels policy, Senator Bill Cassidy's office said, as Trump attempts to find a compromise between Big Oil and Big Corn on an issue that pits two constituencies that are important to Trump's quest for a second term against each other. The meeting will continue a marathon of discussions the White House has held since last week with biofuel and oil refining advocates - including senators from key farm states and refining executives - to negotiate a deal over how much ethanol should be blended into the nation's gasoline. Thursday's meeting will likely focus on the demands of the oil industry.

Sep 19 - Indonesia to push back palm replanting target beyond 2025 
Indonesia could take at least 12 years to complete a programme of replanting palm-growing areas after a farm ministry official said it was revising down annual targets, due to difficulties smallholders faced in proving they were eligible for the scheme. The government plan aimed to boost output on existing plots instead of adding new plantations, so helping to defuse criticism over massive forest clearance that sometimes wafts smog into southeast Asian neighbours, disrupting daily activity. 

Sep 19 - Gavilon lands ADM director as new Brazil general manager - sources
An executive director at Archer Daniels Midland Co in São Paulo has left the firm to take over as Brazil general manager at rival grain trading house Gavilon do Brasil, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Marcelo Grimaldi served most recently as a director at ADM responsible for Andean countries and the biodiesel business, according to his LinkedIn profile, which has not been updated.

Sep 18 - Size matters. Big U.S. farms get even bigger amid China trade war 
As the 2018 harvest approached, North Dakota farmer Mike Appert had a problem - too many soybeans and nowhere to put them. Selling was a bad option. Prices were near decade lows as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China weighed heavily on the market. Temporary storage would only buy him a little bit of time, particularly in an area where cold weather can damage crops stored in plastic bags. 

 Sep 18 - Where's the beef? Argentine ranchers hope more is headed for China
Cattle ranchers in Argentina, which recently edged out neighbor Brazil as the top exporter of beef to China, are hoping to build on that status by getting more local meatpacking plants approved by Beijing, industry officials and other sources told Reuters. An Argentine industry group is currently in China looking to promote the South American country's famed T-bone steaks and sirloins, while Chinese teams have recently inspected Argentine local meat plants, the sources said.

 Sep 18 - Will China's latest U.S. soybean grab be another letdown for the market? - Braun 
China is back in the U.S. soybean market for the first time in three months, but it appears to be motivated more by goodwill than necessity for now, and its impact on U.S. supply remains muted at this point. U.S. soybean exports to China in the recently concluded marketing year were likely the smallest in about 12 years, so market participants pay extra attention anytime China is said to be buying the U.S. oilseed.

Sep 18 - South Korea confirms 2nd case of deadly African swine fever, pledges vigilance  
South Korea has confirmed a second case of African swine fever at a pig farm near the border with North Korea, a day after reporting its first-ever outbreak of the virus, deadly to pigs but not harmful to humans. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that the second case was detected at a farm in Yeoncheon, northwest of the capital Seoul, where 4,700 pigs had been raised. North Korea reported its first case in late May. 

Sep 18 - Angry farmers to face off with NZ's Fonterra over financial woes 
Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, will face off this month with farmer shareholders angry about the New Zealand company's ill-fated foreign expansion and resulting poor returns. Ructions at Fonterra, where a second year of financial losses is forecast following asset writedowns worth billions of dollars, have reverberated widely in a country where dairy farming is crucial to both the national accounts and politics.

Sep 18 - U.S. worker, food-safety advocates sound alarm over new hog slaughter rules 
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 the U.S. Department of Agriculture's first update of inspection procedures at hog slaughterhouses in more than 50 years come after several high-profile recalls in the meat sector.

Sep 18 - AgroGeneration forecasts higher 2019 wheat output in Ukraine
Grain producer AgroGeneration on Tuesday said its soft wheat harvest in Ukraine would reach 116,448 tonnes this year, up from 104,261 tonnes in 2018 at comparable perimeter. However, despite a rise on 2018, wheat yields did not meet the group's target yield target what is a pivotal crop for the group's performance, Agrogeneration said.

Sep 18 - French-owned STAR group commits to maize audit in Madagascar
French-owned beverage company STAR said on Tuesday it has requested an independent audit of its supply chain in Madagascar following media reports linking maize production to deforestation in the west of the country. Slash and burn agriculture was the biggest driver of tree loss in Madagascar last year, causing the world's fourth largest island to lose 2% of its primary rainforest, the highest of any tropical nation according to the World Resources Institute.

Sep 17 - U.S. farmers receive $4.07 bln of latest government trade aid 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has paid $4.07 billion of its latest round of compensation for farmers suffering from the trade war with China as of Monday, Communications Director Michawn Rich said in an email to Reuters. The Trump administration in July announced $16 billion to compensate farmers for lost sales due to China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, on top of $12 billion pledged in last year's aid package.

 Sep 17 - China buys U.S. soybeans for second straight trading day - USDA 
The U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday said private exporters reported the sale of 256,000 tonnes of soybeans to China, the second trading day in a row that it announced a sale to the world's biggest buyer of the oilseed. The sales come ahead of trade talks between the world's two biggest economies and were expected as part of a purchase of more than 600,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans that two traders with knowledge of the deal said China made last week. 

 Sep 17 - China may not enact ethanol fuels mandate amid lower corn stocks 
China's plan to implement a nationwide mandate for ethanol-blended gasoline in 2020 is in doubt after a significant decline in the country's corn stocks, a government researcher said on Tuesday. State stockpiles of corn, the main raw material for ethanol production, have fallen to around 56 million tonnes currently, said Wu Tianlong, a deputy researcher with the Rural Economy Research Center under China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

 Sep 17 - Trump backs plan that would boost biofuel quotas 10% in 2020 
U.S. President Donald Trump has tentatively approved a plan to increase the amount of biofuels that oil refiners are required to blend each year to compensate for exemptions handed out to small refiners by the Environmental Protection Agency, two sources familiar with the matter said. The plan is intended to address a major source of anger in U.S. farm country as Trump seeks to hold favor in the Midwest ahead of next year’s election, but it is likely to upset the oil industry, another important political constituency, underscoring the pitfalls of U.S. biofuel policy.

 Sep 17 - NOPA August soy crush exceeds estimates at 168.085 million bushels 
U.S. soybean crushings topped trade expectations for a second straight month in August as processors notched their seventh largest crush for any month on record, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released on Monday. NOPA members, which handle about 95 percent of all soybeans processed in the United States, crushed 168.085 million bushels of soybeans last month, NOPA said. 

Sep 17 - S.Korea on highest alert after African swine fever found 
South Korea has raised its animal disease alert to the highest level after discovering its first outbreak of deadly African swine fever at a pig farm in Paju, a town near its border with North Korea, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. The case was reported less than four months after North Korea reported its first outbreak in late May. 

Sep 17 - Large groups investing to expand ethanol capacity in Brazil - Unica 
Large companies operating in the sugar and ethanol sector in Brazil are investing to expand capacity to produce the biofuel, due to the continuing strong local demand and low global sugar prices, said an executive from a leading industry group on Monday. According to Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, technical director for Unica, Brazil's largest association representing sugar and ethanol companies, groups controlling several plants in Brazil are building new distillation installations in some of their sites to be able to produce more ethanol next year.

Sep 17 - Ukraine 2019/20 grain exports reach 11.1 mln T -ministry 
Ukraine's grain exports have risen to about 11.1 million tonnes so far in the 2019/20 July-June export season, up from 7.3 million tonnes over the same period last year, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The volume includes 6.75 million tonnes of wheat, 2.45 million tonnes of barley and 1.88 million tonnes of corn, the statement from the ministry said.

Sep 16 - China to exempt U.S. pork, soybeans from additional tariffs - Xinhua
China will exempt some agricultural products from additional tariffs on U.S. goods, including pork and soybeans, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Friday, in the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new round of talks aimed at curbing a bruising trade war. The United States and China have both made conciliatory gestures, with China renewing purchases of U.S. farm goods and U.S. President Donald Trump delaying a tariff increase on certain Chinese goods.

 Sep 16 - Funds halt corn, soy selling amid neutral USDA data, positive U.S.-China news - Braun 
Speculators remain steadfastly bearish toward Chicago-traded grains and oilseeds, but the selling likely paused late last week on friendly U.S.-China trade developments and relatively neutral data from the U.S. government. The corn market has generally been in sell mode since late June as confirmation began trickling in that earlier doomsday crop predictions were highly overblown. Although the U.S. crop was planted historically late, the weather has been largely supportive of yields ever since.

 Sep 16 - Ukraine halves sea port wheat shipments - analyst APK-Inform 
Ukrainian grain exports from sea ports fell to around 881,000 tonnes during the week of Sept. 7-13, from 1.6 million tonnes a week earlier due to a smaller wheat shipments, preliminary data from APK-Inform consultancy showed on Monday. Wheat exports fell to 621,000 tonnes from 1.28 million tonnes in the previous week, while barley shipments rose to 253,000 tonnes from 227,000 tonnes, the consultancy said.

Sep 16 - NOPA August U.S. soy crush seen at 162.018 mln bushels - survey 
U.S. soybean processing plants aggressively crushed beans for a second straight month in August as facilities sought to make up for early-summer downtime that had fueled three straight months of lower-than-expected crushings, analysts said.The crush last month was expected to be down 3.6% from July, when processing volumes were the sixth largest ever, but was still likely the largest on record for August, according to analysts polled ahead of a monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report.

Sep 16 - Japan culls 753 hogs to contain swine fever outbreak
Japanese officials have culled 753 pigs in Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo after detecting an outbreak of swine fever, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday. The cull, which took place on Saturday, was necessary after it was determined that pigs raised in the prefecture for shipment to central Japan were infected, the Yomiuri said.

Sep 16 - Algeria tenders for nominal 50,000 tonnes milling wheat 
Algeria's state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Monday. The tender sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders. Algeria is a vital export customer for west European Union wheat, especially France.

Sep 16 - Marfrig plans 400 new hires as China's hunger for Brazil beef grows 
Brazilian beefpacker Marfrig Global Foods SA said on Friday it is in the process of hiring 400 people to work at its Promissão plant in the state of São Paulo as Chinese demand warrants an increase in meat production. Promissão is one of five Brazilian plants operated by Marfrig authorized to sell meat products to China. Marfrig did not say how many people already work at the plant and how much more beef it would be able to produce once the new hirings were concluded.

Sep 13 - Ahead of trade talks, China makes biggest U.S. soybean purchases since June – traders
Privately run Chinese firms bought at least 10 boatloads of U.S. soybeans on Thursday, the country's most significant purchases since at least June, traders said, ahead of high-level talks next month aimed at ending a bilateral trade war that has lasted more than a year. The soybean purchases, which at more than 600,000 tonnes were the largest by Chinese private importers in more than a year, are slated for shipment from U.S. Pacific Northwest export terminals from October to December, two traders with knowledge of the deals said.

 Sep 13 - Trump meets with senators from key farm states, touts biofuel deal progress
U.S. President Donald Trump said the administration has made progress on a biofuel reform package after he met with U.S. senators from key farm states on Thursday as part of an ongoing effort to boost ethanol demand and help hard-hit corn farmers. Trump met with a group of corn-state Republican lawmakers that included Iowa senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley on Thursday afternoon, four sources familiar with the matter said. 

 Sep 13 - USDA lowers U.S. corn, soybean harvest view by less than expected
U.S. corn and soybean production will be 1% smaller than previously forecast this fall, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday, with both crops still well behind their typical development schedule after late planting. Corn harvest will be curtailed by low ear count and soybean harvest by low pod count, the government said in its monthly World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates and Crop Production reports.

Sep 13 - Sharp contrasts between maize harvests in the EU after heatwave
Maize harvests, which are kicking off in some parts of the European Union, will contrast sharply from one side of the bloc to the other this year after a heatwave hurt crops in the West while sparing major producing countries in the Southeast. The 28-member bloc has been hit by scorching weather over the summer with France, the EU's second-largest maize grower, seeing record-high temperatures that hurt maize plants in key development stages.

Sep 13 - Canadian canola harvest expected to drop 4.8%, the smallest in four years
Canadian canola production is expected to fall 4.8% to 19.4 million tonnes in 2019 despite higher yields, Statistics Canada said on Thursday in a survey based in part on satellite and agroclimatic data, making it the smallest harvested canola crop anticipated in four years. Canola yields are expected to jump 3.8% to 41.3 bushels per acre, while harvested area was set to fall 8.3%, Statscan said.

Sep 13 - Bunge buys minority stake in Brazilian farm supplier
Commodities trader and food processor Bunge Ltd said on Thursday it had bought a 30% stake in Brazilian company Agrofel Grãos e Insumos, which sells agricultural supplies in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. According to a Bunge statement, the deal is in line with the company's strategy to strengthen its capacity to source grains in Brazil.

Sep 13 - EU rapeseed sowings may recover after poor summer harvest
Rapeseed sowings in major EU producers could increase after this summer's poor harvest although restrictions on insecticides are causing problems for farmers, experts said on Thursday. Drought in 2018 hindered sowing of rapeseed, the European Union's main crop for vegetable oil and biodiesel production, cutting this summer's EU rapeseed harvest to a 13-year low. 

Sep 12 - Crushing it: Argentine farmers cheer China soymeal deal while U.S. growers fret
Argentine soy farmers and crushers expect a boost in demand next year after the South American grains giant won long-sought approval from China to export soymeal to the world's biggest consumer of the livestock feed. Argentina, the top international supplier of soymeal, announced on Tuesday that China would allow imports for the first time following decades of talks.

 Sep 12 - White House pushes biofuel deal to biofuel producers, oil refiners -sources
White House officials on Wednesday urged U.S. biofuel producers and oil refiners to accept a deal to lift biofuel blending mandates in 2020, saying overlong negotiations could make it hard to enact the change in time for next year, sources familiar with the discussions said. The White House is trying to soothe farmers infuriated by the Trump administration's decision in August to exempt 31 oil refineries from their requirement to blend biofuels under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, which the agriculture industry says is undermining the market for corn-based ethanol as farmers are losing export sales from the U.S. trade war with China.

 Sep 12 - Brazil's upcoming soy, corn crops at risk amid historically dry weather -Braun
Brazil's soybean sowing season for the 2019-20 harvest is officially under way, but there might not be too many planters out in the fields just yet as conditions are extremely dry. Weather forecasts call for practically bone-dry conditions in most of Brazil's growing regions for at least the next two weeks, and this stands to threaten not only the soybean crop but the heavily exported second corn harvest, as well.

Sep 12 - China says pork supply will be enough for upcoming holidays
China, the world's top pork consumer, will secure sufficient supplies of the meat for upcoming holidays, including the Lunar New Year in late January, said an official on Wednesday, as concerns grow over a looming shortage and soaring prices. China's pig herd has shrunk by a third following a severe outbreak of deadly African swine fever, and pork prices have surged since June on tightening supplies. 

Sep 12 - China revises 2019/20 soybean import forecast lower
China on Thursday said it was expecting lower soybean imports for 2019/20 from an estimate released last month, due to Sino-U.S. trade war and higher domestic output. Soybean imports for the year are now seen at 84 million tonnes, down 900,000 tonnes from last month's forecast, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in its monthly crop report.

Sep 12 - Bumper harvest seen lifting French wheat exports, stocks to 4-year high
French soft wheat exports outside the European Union are expected to climb to a four-year high in 2019/20 as the EU's biggest grain producer shifts a bumper harvest, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Wednesday. Exports of soft wheat, France's main cereal crop, are projected to increase nearly 14% compared with last season to 11.0 million tonnes, the highest volume since 2015/16, FranceAgriMer said in its first supply-and-demand outlook for the 2019/20 season that started in July.

Sep 12 - Taiwan tenders for 110,300 tonnes wheat of U.S.-origin
The Taiwan Flour Millers' Association has issued an international tender to purchase 110,300 tonnes of grade 1 milling wheat to be sourced from the United States, European traders said on Thursday. The tender deadline is Sept. 24.

Sep 12 - Filipino villagers swap trash for rice in fight against plastics
A village in the Philippines is trying to tackle the scourge of plastic waste by offering rice to residents in exchange for their trash. Residents of Bayanan outside the capital, Manila, can get one kg (2.2 lb) of rice, the staple food for Filipinos, for every two kg of plastic waste, which are handed over to the government for proper disposal or recycling.

Sep 12 - NZ's Synlait misses FY profit estimates, shares slump
New Zealand's Synlait Milk reported a 10% rise in annual net profit on Thursday but fell short of expectations as a revised pricing deal with its branding partner a2 Milk resulted in lower margins. Shares in Synlait, which is 39% owned by China's Bright Dairy Holdings, dropped 9.7% to their lowest level in three months.

Sep 12 - Grain trader Gavilon cuts senior U.S. executives - sources
U.S. commodities trader Gavilon Group LLC, owned by Japan's Marubeni Corp, has dismissed at least two senior executives, two people familiar with the matter said, amid a reshuffle that affected the firm's Brazil unit this year. The shakeup at Gavilon is the latest course correction in the region for Marubeni, one of several U.S. grain merchants struggling due to the trade war with China and historic flooding in Midwestern states. 

Sep 11 - China opens soymeal market to No. 1 exporter Argentina in 'historic' deal
China will allow the import of soymeal livestock feed from Argentina for the first time under a deal announced by Buenos Aires on Tuesday, an agreement that will link the world's top exporter of the feed with the top global consumer. The pact will be signed by Argentine and Chinese officials in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Argentina's agriculture ministry said in a statement. 

 Sep 11 - Many U.S. farmers fume at Washington, not Trump, over biofuel, trade policies
American farmers helped elect President Donald Trump in 2016 on hopes he would shake up Washington and turn around a struggling agricultural economy, but many of his policies have actually stung farmers, notably his trade war with China and biofuel waivers for oil refiners. Many farmers are angry, and some are directing their anger not at the Republican president, but at Washington's bureaucracy.

Sep 11 - U.S. corn catches lucky break with mid-month heat, improving finishing prospects - Braun
Ever since U.S. corn planting slipped to a record slow pace in May, the prevailing concern among market participants was whether the later-planted corn would make it all the way to maturity before the first frost or freeze. Although August and the first third of September were cooler than normal across the Corn Belt, much warmer temperatures should set in by the weekend, lasting for at least a week and possibly longer. 

 Sep 11 - China cabinet wants large pig farms to make up 58% of total by 2022
China's state council said on Tuesday it wants large-scale pig farms to make up 58% of the total by 2022 to help improve stability of pork supplies. It did not say how it defines large farms or what the current level is.

Sep 11 - Damaged Columbia River lock stalls U.S. grain exports to Asia
The flow of grains and other commodities through the U.S. Pacific Northwest has stalled because of a broken river lock at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, along the Oregon-Washington border. The stoppage adds another worry for U.S. farmers at a time when wheat prices have tumbled to multi-year lows, reflecting fierce competition for export business amid burdensome U.S. and world grain supplies.

Sep 11 - Brazil's 2019/20 early soybean sowing hampered by dry weather
Dry weather in Brazilian states like Paraná and Mato Grosso will slow the pace of soybean planting early in the season, unlike in the last cycle when farmers accelerated sowing driven by good rainfall, said weather forecasters and consultancies. Through Sept. 17, 2018, Paraná had 9% of the projected area sown, according to the state's Department of Rural Economy (Deral).

Sep 11 - South Korea's MFG buys 136,000 tonnes corn in tender
South Korea's Major Feedmill Group (MFG) purchased a total 136,000 tonnes of corn expected to be sourced from South America in an international tender that closed on Tuesday, European traders said on Wednesday. Traders had initially estimated the purchase at between 55,000 to 70,000 tonnes.

Sep 11 - Brazil's center-south boosts cane crush, hydrous ethanol output record
Millers in Brazil's center-south increased cane processing by almost 10% in the second half of August from a year earlier, crushing 47.8 million tonnes in the period, cane industry group Unica said on Tuesday. Dry weather late in August helped mills advance quickly with harvesting of the 2019/20 crop. Sugar production in the period increased 5.5% versus the same time a year earlier to 2.51 million tonnes.

Sep 10 - China clears 25 Brazil meat plants for export, lifting shares
China granted export licenses to 25 Brazilian meatpacking plants, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said on Monday, allowing the country's fast-growing protein industry to feed more people in the Asian nation where disease has hurt local supply. The news drove up the stocks of licensed-plant owners BRF SA, Minerva SA and Marfrig Global Foods SA.

 Sep 10 - Big Ag wants a cut of booming fake-meat market
Bunge Ltd, one the world's biggest grain traders, recently disclosed the 1.6% stake it had purchased in the fast-growing fake-meat startup Beyond Meat. The play looked smart after the stock surged more than 250% since the faux burger and sausage maker's initial public offering in May. Indeed, Beyond Meat's market capitalization of $9.9 billion is now larger than Bunge's, a 201-year-old firm with 31,000 employees.

 Sep 10 - Australia cuts wheat production forecast by nearly 10%
Australia on Tuesday trimmed its wheat production forecast during the 2019/20 season by nearly 10% as prolonged dry weather across the country's east coast wilts production. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) pegged production of the country's largest rural export at 19.2 million tonnes, down from its previous estimate in June of 21.9 million tonnes.

 Sep 10 - Crop Watch: Yield hopes steady as growers welcome warmer weather - Braun
The U.S. Crop Watch producers have reported slower-than-normal development in their corn and soybeans all season because of late planting and cooler temperatures, but the warmer weather expected across the Corn Belt for the next two weeks is exactly what the crops need to help push them toward the finish line. The mid-May planted soybeans have started to make the turn toward maturity, but the later-planted ones have not, meaning there is still a decent amount of time for rains to make a difference for the filling of pods. 

 Sep 10 - Strategie Grains cuts EU rapeseed crop estimate, ups imports
Consultancy Strategie Grains cut its estimate of the European Union's rapeseed harvest to a 13-year low on Monday, while increasing its forecast for EU imports of the oilseed this season to a record high. In a monthly oilseed report, the firm lowered its EU rapeseed production forecast to 17.05 million tonnes from 17.4 million previously. Both levels would be the lowest since 2006.

Sep 10 - Brazil miners, upset by gov't crackdown, block grain transportation route
Small gold miners that have been working on illegal pits in the Amazon rainforest blocked an important road for grains transportation in Brazil's Para state on Monday, protesting a crackdown by the government, police said. The miners, mostly habitants of Moraes Almeida, a district in the Itaituba municipality that is at the center of an environmental crisis due to widespread fires in the forests surrounding it, blocked the BR-163 federal road. 

Sep 10 - South Korea's MFG tenders for up to 140,000 tonnes corn
South Korea's Major Feedmill Group (MFG) has issued an international tender to buy up to 140,000 tonnes of corn which can be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Tuesday. The corn was sought for arrival in February 2020.

Sep 10 - Mosaic to idle Louisiana phosphates operations to cut 2019 output
U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co said on Monday it would idle its Louisiana phosphates operations to cut production by about 500,000 tonnes in 2019 as more imports into the country have pushed down prices. Prices of the crucial fertilizer ingredient have been have been under pressure since late 2018 as demand remains weak and capacity expansions in Morocco and Saudi Arabia have increased output and exports.

Sep 10 - Sanderson Farms gets U.S. DoJ subpoena in chicken price-fixing case
Poultry processor Sanderson Farms Inc said on Monday it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice related to the regulator's investigation into the broiler chicken antitrust case. The Justice Department had begun a criminal probe into allegations that Tyson Foods Inc and other poultry processors including Sanderson Farms colluded to fix poultry prices, court documents showed in June.

Sep 10 - Dryness in western Argentine wheat belt sparks worry about yields
Argentina's wheat crop could be damaged by dryness in the western part of the country's farm belt if rains do not appear over the weeks ahead in time for key development stages, local climate specialists said on Monday. Argentina is a key global wheat supplier. 

Sep 10 - Zambia farm input supplier plans to invest $150 mln in farming
One of Zambia's largest farm input suppliers, African Green Resources (AGR) plans to invest $150 million with local farmers to develop an irrigation dam, a 50 megawatt (MW) solar farm and expand existing grain silo capacity by 80,000 tonnes. AGR's chairman said the expansion programme, which will see the joint venture seeking to add value to produce for local and export markets, will also add to factories currently owned by Agri Options Ltd.

Sep 09 - Malaysian Cash Market Prices for Palm Oil Unavailable
Data for a.m. and p.m. Malaysian cash market prices for palm oil are unavailable due to King's birthday national holiday.

Sep 09 - Saudi Arabia’s SAGO in a purchase tender bought 780,000 MT of wheat
Saudi Arabia’s SAGO in a purchase tender on September 6, bought 780,000 MT of wheat (12.5% protein)  of EU, North and South American (excl. Canadian), Australian and Black Sea origin at an average price of 217.79 $/mt c&f in 13 consignments for Nov-Jan shipment to the ports of Jeddah (545 TMT), Dammam (180 TMT) and Jizan (55 TMT)

Sep 09 - China Aug soybean imports jump nearly 10% as cargoes arrive after delay
China's soybean imports in August jumped 9.7% from the previous month to hit the highest level in nearly one-and-half-years, customs data showed on Sunday, as some shipments booked earlier cleared customs after a delay. August's imports of 9.48 million tonnes were up from 8.64 million tonnes in July, and also ahead of 9.15 million tonnes in August last year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

 Sep 09 - As Bolivian forests burn, Evo's bet on Big Farming comes under fire
In the tropical Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a wealthy farming hub on the edge on the Amazon rainforest, President Evo Morales gathered with ranchers late last month to celebrate a maiden shipment of beef to China. An elaborate ceremony was staged to mark what was supposed to be a crowning achievement in Morales' plan to make Bolivia a global foods supplier - entry to China's massive market just as Beijing shops around for alternatives to U.S. producers.

 Sep 09 - China plans subsidies for large pig farms to boost output
China's state planner said on Monday it will issue subsidies of up to 5 million yuan ($700,000) to support the construction of large-scale pig farms in the latest measure to promote pig farming after a devastating disease ravaged the hog herd. The subsidies - to be at least 500,000 yuan but no more than 30% of the total project investment - must be issued by the end of 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on its website.

 Sep 09 - Russian wheat prices fall to 23-month low - SovEcon consultancy
Export prices for Russian wheat fell this week for the sixth consecutive week and reached their lowest level since October, 2017 amid strong competition from other producers, Russian agricultural consultancy SovEcon said on Saturday. Black Sea prices for wheat with 12.5% protein content fell by $2.50 from the previous week to $186.5 a tonne on a free on board (FOB) basis, SovEcon said.

 Sep 09 - Biofuel plan faces fresh backlash from U.S. agricultural trade groups
U.S. agricultural trade groups on Friday told the Trump administration a proposed biofuel reform package falls short of expectations, four sources familiar with discussions said, complicating plans the administration had for presenting the proposal to President Donald Trump. Trump was expected to meet with Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture officials on Friday afternoon to discuss the proposal meant to assuage farmers angry about biofuel blending exemptions given to oil refineries, a separate source said. 

 Sep 09 - Canada takes first formal step at WTO to challenge China's canola ban
Canada, locked in a major dispute with Beijing, is taking the first formal step at the World Trade Organization to challenge China's decision to block Canadian canola exports, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Friday. China, angry at Canada's detention of a top Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive last year on a U.S. arrest warrant, blocked all imports of canola seed in March on the grounds they contained pests.

 Sep 09 - Brazil agribusiness joins with NGOs to call for action on Amazon
Brazil's leading meat export industry group and other agribusiness associations on Friday joined with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to call for an end to deforestation on public lands, demanding government action as the Amazon rainforest burns. Meat group Abiec and NGOs Imazon and IPAM are among the 11 Brazilian groups signing on to a campaign that also calls for protected conservation areas in the country to be maintained and the creation of a justice ministry task force to resolve conflicts over public land, according to a statement from the signatories.

 Sep 09 - Dead pigs in Philippines test positive for African swine fever
Dead pigs found in some backyard farms in the Philippines tested positive for African swine fever, the country's agriculture chief said on Monday, the first outbreak of the virus detected in the Southeast Asian country. The announcement was based on the results of laboratory tests requested by Agriculture Secretary William Dar after reports last month of an unusual number of pig deaths in backyard farms. 

Sep 06 - Lawsuit alleges ADM manipulated cash ethanol market to profit from derivatives
Global grain trader and food processor Archer Daniels Midland Co allegedly manipulated the price of ethanol to profit from a short position it was holding in the derivatives market, according to a lawsuit by a rival firm. AOT Holdings, a Swiss company that owns an energy trading subsidiary, filed the class action complaint late on Wednesday in U.S. District Court's Central District of Illinois Urbana Division, claiming damages from ADM's actions of up to $6.33 million.

Sep 06 - Trump to meet with USDA, EPA officials about biofuels plan - sources
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency officials late Thursday to consider a plan that would include boosting biofuels requirements for 2020 by 1 billion gallons, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Trump has promised to deliver a "giant package" to U.S. farmers related to ethanol, in response to ire from U.S. farmers and biofuels advocates over a large number of exemptions regulators have given to oil refineries to free them of requirements to blend biofuels.

Sep 06 - Bunge lays off grain traders in Geneva as company seeks to minimize risk - sources
U.S. agribusiness firm Bunge Ltd laid off up to 10 grain traders in Geneva in recent days as it pursues a global restructuring to cut costs and reduce market exposure, five industry sources said. The cuts to trading staff come as Bunge is streamlining its operations in tough agricultural markets and seeks to avoid a repeat of money-losing bets made early in the year-old U.S.-China trade war. 

 Sep 06 - Fonterra seeks more time to finalise accounts after write-downs, losses
New Zealand's Fonterra on Friday sought more time to finalise its annual results, adding to uncertainty around the dairy giant's outlook after it took massive write-downs and forecasted its worst-ever loss. The world's biggest dairy exporter is under the scrutiny of New Zealand's financial regulator after it shocked markets last month with a write-down of up to NZ$860 million ($550 million) for its assets in Brazil, Venezuela, China and other countries, and said it was on track to post an annual loss of as much as NZ$675 million. It also said it would not pay a dividend this year. 

 Sep 06 - India's duty hike blunts appetite for refined Malaysian palm oil
India's demand for Malaysian refined palm oil is likely to drop sharply in October following a tax hike, curtailing further exports from the Southeast Asian country and leading to higher inventories. India, the world's biggest edible oil importer, on Wednesday raised the tax on refined palm oil from Malaysia to 50% from 45% for six months to curb imports and boost local refining. 

 Sep 06 - Bayer says Monsanto's list of influential people was not illegal
Bayer said a law firm it commissioned to investigate lists compiled by Monsanto of European journalists, politicians and researchers had found no evidence of illegal behaviour. French prosecutors in May opened an inquiry after newspaper Le Monde filed a complaint alleging Monsanto, which was bought by Bayer for $63 billion, had kept files of influential people in a bid to sway public opinion on its pesticides. 

Sep 06 - Brazil's new soybean crop seen reaching record above 121 mln tonnes
Planting of Brazil's new soybean crop is about to start in most producing regions and output is expected to increase by 5.5% compared with the previous crop to a record 121.41 million tonnes, broker and consultancy INTL FCStone said on Thursday. It expects planting growth of 1.6% in the new cycle, which is smaller than growth rates in recent years, confirming a view from another forecaster this week. 

Sep 06 - Argentine crushing plant workers at grains ports begin strike - union
An Argentine union for workers at grains crushing plants kicked off a national strike over wages, complicating exports in the main agricultural province of the South American country. The strike, which began late Wednesday, will impact the southern area of the main Rosario grains port. However, it will not affect the northern area of Rosario, made up of San Lorenzo, Puerto General San Martin and Timbues districts, which accounts for 80 percent of Argentina's grains exports.

Sep 05 - India raises import tax on Malaysian refined palm oil by 5% 
India has raised the tax on refined palm oil from Malaysia to 50% from 45% for six months to curb imports and boost local refining. The world's biggest edible oil importer currently imposes a 40% import tax on crude palm oil and 50% on refined palm oils.But since January, shipments of refined palm oils from Malaysia have been taxed at 45%, under an agreement with Malaysia.

 Sep 05 - Brazil judge orders Bayer to deposit $69 mln in soy patent dispute 
A Brazilian judge has ordered Germany's Bayer to deposit an additional 286 million reais ($69.4 million) in an escrow account due to a patent dispute with local soybean farmers, according to a court decision seen by Reuters. Federal Judge Vanessa Gasques in the state of Mato Grosso issued the ruling late on Tuesday, ordering the company to make the deposit within 48 hours.

 Sep 05 - Tyson Foods slowed chicken processing after U.S. recalls, raising costs 
Tyson Foods Inc slowed chicken processing after it recalled millions of pounds of poultry this year over concerns they contained extraneous materials like rubber and metal, Chief Executive Noel White said on Wednesday. The slower processing led to higher costs that contributed to a $220-million cut to the company's expected adjusted earnings for 2019 announced on Tuesday, White said at an investor conference. Almost half of the cut was linked to Tyson's poultry business, he said, providing new details on the adjustment. 

 Sep 05 - U.S. corn exports likely fall short of 2018-19 target while soybeans exceed - Braun 
U.S. corn exports finished off the recently concluded U.S. marketing year at the slowest pace in seven years, while soybean exports hit a record high in the fourth quarter owing to anomalously large shipments to China. Analysis of the latest data suggests that U.S. corn exports in 2018-19, which ended on Aug. 31, will fall short of the current full-year government forecast but soybeans likely topped its target.

Sep 05 - Amid swine fever outbreak, Brazil beef plants set for Chinese inspections - sources 
Chinese health inspectors are expected to start evaluating four Brazilian beef plants on Thursday as part of a push to approve new meat exporters amid an outbreak of swine fever, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Marfrig Global Foods SA owns one of the plants, located in the town of Várzea Grande in Mato Grosso state, according to both sources. A third source confirmed the date of the inspection, to be carried out using video technology, but did not confirm the number of plants involved.

Sep 05 - Germany to ban use of glyphosate from end of 2023 
Germany will ban the use of the weedkiller glyphosate - the subject of billion-dollar U.S lawsuits over claims it causes cancer - from the end of 2023 and limit its use before then, the Environment Ministry said on Wednesday. Germany's move comes after Austria's lower house of parliament in July passed a bill banning all uses of glyphosate and after some 20 French mayors last month banned it from their municipalities, defying the government. 

Sep 05 - Malaysia Aug palm stocks set to hit 13-month low - Reuters survey 
Malaysian palm oil stockpiles are forecast to fall for a sixth straight month in August to the lowest in more than a year, as stronger exports outpace a slight rise in output, a Reuters survey showed. Inventories in Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, are expected to fall 7.1% from the previous month to 2.22 million tonnes at end-August, the lowest since July 2018, according to a median estimate of seven planters, traders and analysts polled by Reuters.  

Sep 05 - Parrish & Heimbecker buys Louis Dreyfus locations to expand footprint in Canada 
Canadian grain company Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd said on Wednesday it has acquired 10 locations of Louis Dreyfus Co, as part of plan to grow its grain supply chain across the country. The deal will help the Winnipeg, Canada-based firm expand its grain and crop input business in new geographies, across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and provide farmers access to grain trading, handling and merchandising.

Sep 05 - Argentine farmers favoring safe-bet soy over corn as policy outlook darkens 
Argentine farmers, anxious about an increasingly murky political outlook and economic turmoil, are turning towards soy over more expensive corn to cut costs, a shift that could impact next season's harvest in one of the world's top grain exporters. Farmers said a volatile economic situation in Argentina and the likelihood of a new administration at the end of the year, after President Mauricio Macri was hammered in primary elections, meant soybeans looked a less risky bet than corn.

Sep 04 - Drought brings clouds for Australia wheat, silver lining for Black Sea suppliers 
A third straight year of drought in Australia, blighted by forecasts of below-average rains during the crucial spring growing season, means the country's wheat crop could shrivel by 10% from previous forecasts, traders and industry officials say. And the gloomy prospects for wheat output in Australia, once the world's leading supplier, offers a silver lining to rival Black Sea grain producers such as Russia and Ukraine seeking business in rapidly growing Asian markets.

 Sep 04 - Brazil soy area to grow at the slowest pace in 13 years - AgRural 
The area in Brazil to be planted with soybeans in the 2019-20 season, which starts this month, will grow by the slowest pace in 13 years as a global trade war and swine fever in China cloud the outlook for farmers, according to analysts at AgRural. The agribusiness consultancy expects Brazil's planted soy area to expand just 1.1% to 36.3 million hectares, well below the average annual growth of 5.2% over the past decade.

 Sep 04 - Tyson cuts profit forecast, says slaughterhouse fire among challenges 
Tyson Foods Inc lowered its 2019 adjusted earnings forecast on Tuesday, citing a litany of causes including a recent fire at its Holcomb slaughterhouse and volatility in the commodity market. The fire resulted in an unforeseen shutdown at the slaughterhouse in Kansas last month, likely curtailing Tyson's meat processing operations.

 Sep 04 - Crop Watch: Corn, soy maturing slowly in cooler weather, but expectations up slightly 
The U.S. Crop Watch producers have been mostly pleased with this summer’s weather as corn and soybean yield expectations are higher than they were post-planting, but all eight locations report that warmth is needed to push crops toward maturity. Warmer-than-normal temperatures are likely to move in from the west later this week, and some more warmth appears likely for most of the Corn Belt toward mid-month.

Sep 04 - Brazil expected to introduce tariff-free wheat import quota from 2020 - group 
Brazil is expected to introduce a tariff-free wheat import quota of 750,000 tonnes per year starting from 2020, the president of the country's wheat industry group Abitrigo, Rubens Barbosa, said on Tuesday. Brazil announced the opening of the tariff-free wheat import quota earlier this year in connection with President Jair Bolsonaro's visit to the United States, with U.S. wheat producers seen as potential beneficiaries, although the policy has yet to be instituted.

Sep 04 - Russia's VTB plans to enter grain markets in Africa, Middle East and Asia 
Russian state-controlled VTB bank, which has been expanding its grain business, plans to enter grain markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia to increase Russian grain exports, a senior official told reporters. VTB, Russia's second largest lender, has recently become the largest operator of the country's grain export infrastructure and is building its own export arm after buying large local grain trader Mirogroup in August. 

Sep 04 - New Zealand's Fonterra says weaker yuan hits dairy demand 
Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, said on Wednesday the weaker Chinese yuan is hurting consumer purchasing power for its U.S. dollar-priced dairy products. New Zealand's Fonterra, however, maintained its current farmgate milk price forecast of NZ$6.25 to NZ$7.25 ($4.00 - $4.64) per kg of milk solids for 2019/2020 but said risks remain for the global dairy market.

Sep 03 - Brazil ships record corn volume in August; ethanol also jumps
Brazil shipped 7.65 million tonnes of corn in August, the highest monthly amount ever, raising this year's exports to 23 million tonnes as traders took advantage of a record local crop and a favorable exchange rate, government data showed on Monday. Brazil corn exports in August surpassed the previous monthly record posted in July and were more than double the 2.9 million tonnes shipped in the same month a year earlier.

 Sep 03 - Kazakhstan cuts grain export outlook on poor demand, weather conditions
Kazakhstan has cut its forecast for the 2019-2020 marketing season of grain and flour exports to about 7 million tonnes from 9 million tonnes, Kazakh Agriculture Minister Saparkhan Omarov said on Tuesday. This is because of the weather conditions, Omarov told reporters, adding that they will harvest less now.

 Sep 03 - Russia's VTB plans to enter grain markets in Africa, Middle East and Asia
Russian state-controlled VTB bank, which has been expanding its grain business, plans to enter grain markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia to increase Russian grain exports, a senior official told reporters. VTB, Russia's second largest lender, has recently become the largest operator of the country's grain export infrastructure and is building its own export arm after buying large local grain trader Mirogroup in August. 

Sep 03 - Funds sell more CBOT corn, unfazed by crop concerns and trade deals - Braun
Chicago-traded corn futures have largely traded sideways ever since the U.S. government stunned the market on Aug. 12 with a lofty forecast for the domestic corn crop, but speculators have turned sharply bearish on the yellow grain since then. In the week ended Aug. 27, hedge funds and other money managers increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures and options to 94,137 contracts from 56,441 a week prior, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

Sep 02 - U.S. Cash Market Prices for Grains, Oilseeds and Meals are unavailable
Data for USA cash market prices for all Grains and Oilseeds, Vegoils and Meals will be unavailable due to Labor Day Federal Holiday.

Sep 02 - Malaysian Cash Market Prices for Palm Oil Unavailable
Data for a.m. and p.m. Malaysian cash market prices for palm oil are unavailable due to Awal Muharram regional Holiday (Hijri New Year)

Sep 02 - Trade war with U.S. won't affect China's pork supply - Chinese ministry
China said its trade dispute with the United States would not affect the Asian nation's pork supply, state-television reported on Friday, citing an official at the agriculture ministry. The comment comes before an additional 10% tariff imposed by China on U.S. farm imports kicks in on Sept. 1.

 Sep 02 - USDA July soybean crush seen at 178.5 mln bushels
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to report that 5.355 million short tons, or 178.5 million bushels, of soybeans were crushed at U.S. processing plants in July, according to the average forecast of seven analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of monthly data. Estimates ranged from 177.1 million bushels to 179.0 million bushels, with a median of 178.5 million. The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly fats and oils report at 2 p.m. CDT (1900 GMT) on Tuesday.

 Sep 02 - ADM, Bunge say not sourcing from newly deforested parts of Amazon
Grain traders Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd said in separate statements on Friday they do not source crops from newly deforested areas in the Amazon and are using satellite monitoring to enforce their policies. Bunge said it is evaluating available information about the number and location of the existing Amazon rainforest fires.

 Sep 02 - Australia's Incitec puts fertiliser business up for review, lowers EBIT guidance
Australia's Incitec Pivot Ltd, a fertiliser and explosives producer, said on Monday it would review its fertiliser business and lowered its operating profit forecast due to drought and increased costs. The company, Australia's top distributor of fertilisers, said it expects earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of A$285 million to A$295 million ($192 million to $199 million), lower than an earlier range of A$321 million to A$366 million.

 Sep 02 - UK farmers call for import tariffs on agricultural products in no-deal Brexit
Britain's National Farmers Union wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday calling for import tariffs on eggs, some dairy products, horticultural products and grains if Britain leaves the European Union without a trade deal. British agricultural exports to the EU are expected to face tariffs under a no-deal scenario, but in March the government under then Prime Minister Theresa May announced a plan to eliminate tariffs on many imports, including some dairy products and agricultural products, to avoid a so-called hard border with Ireland. 

 Sep 02 - Thailand to propose $850 mln in subsidies for rubber farmers
Thailand will propose up to 26 billion baht ($849.7 million) in subsidies for rubber farmers in a bid to boost their income, a minister said on Monday. The plan, which may be considered by the cabinet next week, will benefit more than 1.4 million farmers and nearly 300,000 rubber tappers between October and September next year.

 Sep 02 - Malaysia's Sime Darby says to exit Liberia by end-2019
Malaysia's Sime Darby Plantation Bhd said on Friday that it has initiated talks with three parties on its plans to exit Liberia, and expects to divest its operations in the West African nation in the "next few months". The world's largest oil palm planter by land size said in February it was reviewing its operations in Liberia due to lower-than-expected returns on investment. 

 Sep 02 - China's top feed producer New Hope Liuhe H1 profits surge 87% on year
China's major feed and meat producer New Hope Liuhe said on Friday its first-half net profit surged 87.14% as feed and poultry sales rose. The privately-owned agriculture giant reported net profit of 1.56 billion yuan ($219.94 million), up from 846 million yuan a year ago. Revenue was 35.29 billion yuan, up 11.54% from the previous year, according to a company filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Aug 30 - Trump promises ethanol-related 'giant package' to please farmers
President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration is planning a "giant package" related to ethanol that would please U.S. farmers angry that many more oil refiners have been freed from obligations to use the corn-based fuel. Clashes between farmers and the oil industry over biofuel policy have posed a challenge for Trump, who is counting on the support of both constituencies in next year's presidential election.

 Aug 30 - China makes small U.S. pork purchase before additional tariffs imposed 
China made a small purchase of American pork last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday, before an additional 10% tariff on farm imports kicks in on Sept. 1. The world's largest pork consumer and hog producer bought 1,861 tonnes of U.S. pork from Aug. 16 to Aug. 22, up from 220 tonnes a week earlier, according to USDA data.

 Aug 30 - Brazil sets sights on China's ethanol market, but high volumes unlikely
Brazil's ethanol industry is looking to grab a chunk of China's ethanol market as the Asian nation targets a 10% blend in gasoline to improve air quality, but a short-term jump in exports is unlikely, according to people following the matter. China wants to add 10% of ethanol to all gasoline used in the country by 2020, a policy that could sharply boost the country's ethanol market and potentially increase imports, since local production capacity is too small to meet the target.

 Aug 30 - IGC raise forecast for 2019/2020 world corn production 
The International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday raised its forecast for global corn (maize) production in the 2019/2020 season, mainly reflecting an improved outlook for the U.S. crop. In its monthly update, the inter-governmental body increased its global corn crop forecast by 8 million tonnes to 1.1 billion tonnes.

 Aug 30 - Brazilian meatpackers cleared to export beef to Indonesia - minister
Indonesia has authorized beef exports from 10 Brazilian meat-packing plants, Brazil's agriculture minister said in a statement late on Wednesday. The plants have the potential to export at least 25,000 tonnes of beef products, Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said in the statement, without elaborating.

Aug 30 - Ukraine benefits from slow start to Russia's wheat export season
Russian wheat exports have been slow so far this season, to the benefit of Ukraine which has seen a surge in its shipments of the grain, traders said. Russia and Ukraine, along with Romania and Kazakhstan, compete with each other in wheat markets in North Africa and the Middle East, which they supply via the Black Sea.

Aug 30 - Brazil soy plantings in Amazon fire hotspots is minimal - industry group
Soybean plantings in the ten towns that reported the most fires in the Amazon region through last month is so low that it is immaterial to Brazil's overall soy production, according to national oilseeds crusher group Abiove. The 10 towns most affected by the forest fires between January and July this year recorded soy plantings on only 30,000 hectares in the 2018/2019 season, according to data compiled by Abiove from multiple government sources.

Aug 30 - German ministry sees larger wheat crop despite heatwave 
Germany will produce a larger wheat harvest this year despite the impact of an early summer heatwave followed by repeated rain, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday. The country will harvest 22.71 million tonnes of its most important grain type, winter wheat, up 15.9% from 2018’s drought-hit crop, the ministry said in its first harvest estimate.

Aug 30 - Argentina opposition candidate asks grains farmers for fresh start
The man widely expected to become Argentina's next president asked farmers from the country's key grains sector on Thursday to put aside their bitter differences with the government of his running mate, former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and move forward with him. Opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez held talks with four major agriculture organizations at his campaign's offices in Buenos Aires in his first major meeting with the grains sector, which had a combative relationship with Fernandez de Kirchner.

Aug 29 - Trump to announce plan to boost biofuel demand soon -U.S. agriculture secretary
U.S. President Donald Trump will announce a plan to boost demand for biofuels within weeks, his secretary of agriculture said on Wednesday, as the administration seeks to assuage farmers angered by its expanded use of oil refinery waivers. The spat over the waivers has left the White House caught between the oil industry, which wants its refineries freed from obligations to blend ethanol into the fuel supply, and farmers in key election states who grow the corn used to make the ethanol.

 Aug 29 - Big harvest means France must export 20 mln T of wheat in 2019/20 - Agritel
France will need to export 20.1 million tonnes of soft wheat this season after harvesting its second-largest crop in history, French consultancy Agritel said on Wednesday. France, the European Union's largest wheat producer and exporter, has only reached that level of exports three times before.

 Aug 29 - Steak-crazy Argentines keep buying beef even after peso crash inflates prices
Times are hard in recession-hit Argentina and the peso currency's latest crash has jolted food prices higher. But in a country where eating beef is considered more a right than a luxury, people are stretching their budgets to keep buying steak while butcher shops see profit margins shrink.

 Aug 29 - Canada expects canola harvest to be smallest in 4 years on reduced plantings
Canadian farmers expect to harvest the smallest canola crop in 4 years due to reduced plantings, according to a government report released on Wednesday amid a diplomatic dispute between Canada and China, the top importer of the crop. The spat, centered on the arrest of a Chinese executive in Canada and China's subsequent arrest of two Canadians, has curbed canola export sales since early this year and weakened prices just as farmers were deciding what to plant this spring.

Aug 29 - BRF CEO says swine fever will drive Brazil pork output growth
Food processor BRF SA is poised to increase pork production in home country Brazil as an outbreak of African swine fever is driving import demand for that type of protein in China, the most affected by the sanitary crisis. Lorival Luz, BRF chief executive, said on Wednesday the company accounts for 28% of Brazil's supply estimated at about 4 million tonnes of pork a year. He did not provide an estimate for how much the company could boost production.

Aug 29 - USDA to probe beef market after Tyson Foods slaughterhouse fire
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue ordered an investigation into widening prices between cattle and beef on Wednesday after a recent fire at a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, shut the plant. Cattle prices have tanked because the fire temporarily eliminated a key buyer of livestock. Farmers have worried that meat packers such as Tyson, Cargill Inc and JBS USA would take advantage of the situation by dropping their offering prices.

Aug 29 - Brazil's JBS says it uses satellites to monitor cattle suppliers
The world's largest meatpacker JBS SA is closely monitoring the origin of the cattle it buys in Brazil amid heightened concerns about environmental preservation and sustainable business practices, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Speaking at an industry event in São Paulo, JBS Chief Executive Gilberto Tomazoni said the company is using satellite technology to monitor a 450,000 square-km (280,000 square mile) area of Brazil to guarantee it is not buying cattle from deforested areas.

Aug 29 - Russian state-controlled grain trader looks to sell grain to Egypt
Russian state-controlled grain trader United Grain Company (UGC) is looking to expand grain exports by selling to Egypt, the world's top wheat importer and the largest buyer of Russian wheat, it said on Wednesday. Egypt's state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) held a wheat purchase tender on Tuesday, which showed a newcomer - Grain Export SA - among its participants.

Aug 29 - France considers pesticide buffer zones around residential areas
France is looking at introducing pesticide-free buffer zones around housing areas after a number of local mayors defied the government by banning weed killers such as glyphosate in their towns. A World Health Organization agency said in 2015 that glyphosate probably causes cancer and French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to ban it by 2021 nationwide - leading to an outcry among farmers who say they need alternatives. 

Aug 28 - As Trump policies deepen farmers' pain, Democrats see an opening in rural America
Seizing on mounting Farm Belt frustration with President Donald Trump's economic agenda, Democratic rivals are stepping up their push to take back part of rural America, whose overwhelming support for Trump helped propel his upset 2016 election victory. The sparsely populated U.S. heartland has remained loyal to the Republican president even as farmers from Iowa to Wisconsin to Pennsylvania bear the brunt of his tariff war with China. His advisers insist Trump's projection of toughness against China will only delight, not alienate, his base.

 Aug 28 - U.S. corn, soy sales at 14-year low with new marketing year days away - Braun
The 2019-20 U.S. corn and soybean marketing years begin on Sunday, but the amount of product sold for export through mid-month is dismal, dampening the chances of trimming domestic supplies over the next year. Through Aug. 15, some 9.94 million tonnes of corn and soybeans have been sold to foreign buyers for shipment in 2019-20, down 55% from both a year earlier and the five-year average for the date. 

 Aug 28 - EU 2019/20 soft wheat exports up 6% by Aug. 25
European Union soft wheat exports in the 2019/20 season that started on July 1 had reached 2.81 million tonnes by Aug. 25, up 6% on last year, official data showed on Tuesday. EU 2019/20 barley exports had reached 1.05 million tonnes, down 10% on the previous year, while maize imports stood at 3.16 million tonnes, up 77% from a year earlier.

 Aug 28 - South Africa's 2019 maize output seen slightly up from previous estimate
South Africa is expected to harvest more maize in 2019 compared with the previous month's forecast after higher crop yields in Limpopo, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Tuesday. The CEC, which gave its seventh estimate for the 2018/2019 season, estimated production at 11.016 million tonnes compared with the July estimate of 10.913 million tonnes. 

Aug 28 - Norway urges its companies in Brazil to safeguard the Amazon
Norway, until recently the main donor to a fund to curb Amazonian deforestation, on Tuesday called on Norwegian companies active in Brazil to ensure they do not contribute to the destruction of the rainforest. Representatives of oil firm Equinor, fertiliser-maker Yara and aluminium producer Norsk Hydro attended a meeting on Tuesday with Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen to discuss the fires in the Amazon.

Aug 28 - Fonterra's July NZ milk output rises 5%
Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, on Wednesday said milk production in July climbed 4.8% year-on-year in New Zealand, helped by good conditions at the start of the season. New Zealand milk collection rose 2.2% from a year ago in July, the second month of the 2019/20 season.

Aug 28 - U.S. threat to French wine receding, but not lifted - minister
A U.S. threat to impose tariffs on French wine in response to a French tax on big digital companies is receding - albeit not lifted definitively, France's finance minister said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and U.S. officials reached a deal on the sidelines of a G7 summit at the weekend in Biarritz, southwestern France, to end a standoff over the tax of 3% on revenues earned in France. 

Aug 27 - Chinese pork imports seen doubling over two years by 2020 - FCStone
Chinese pork meat imports are projected to sharply rise from 2.1 million tonnes in 2018 to 3.3 million tonnes in 2019 and 4.2 million tonnes in 2020, because of the African swine fever outbreak, broker and consultancy INTL FCStone said on Monday. FCStone estimated during a commodities outlook conference in Sao Paulo that China's pork meat production will fall to 38 million tonnes in 2019 from 54 million tonnes in 2018. It expects the production to fall further to 34 million tonnes in 2020, as the country will continue to struggle to control the devastating disease.

 Aug 27 - Biofuel credit surplus could blunt RIN price impact from Trump moves - sources
A big surplus of U.S. biofuel blending credits would likely blunt potential price increases in the market if the Trump administration follows through on its proposal to boost blending volumes mandates, four industry sources said. Prices for the credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, tanked this month after the Environmental Protection Agency decided to grant 31 biofuel waivers to oil refiners, exempting them from their obligation to blend ethanol into their gasoline.

 Aug 27 - Crop Watch: Rains boost corn potential again, but warmer weather preferred - Braun
Plentiful rain in most of the U.S. Crop Watch locations last week boosted expectations for corn yield to the highest levels of the season, though the prediction calls for just slightly above average results. The week ahead looks drier for most of the Crop Watch locations, which should be fine, but the temperatures will be a little cooler than is ideal, especially in northern areas that need heat to push the crops to the finish. However, the week should contain good stretches of much-needed sunshine.

Aug 27 - Funds scrap bullish views in CBOT corn as U.S. crop concerns wane - Braun
Speculators last week erased their bullish bets in Chicago-traded corn for the first time since May, as the U.S. crop is likely to be larger than many market analysts had predicted. Corn futures shot to five-year highs back in June as constant rains caused record planting delays for the U.S. crop, but the weather has been largely favorable since then, and comfortable global corn supplies have kept demand for the U.S. product in check.

 Aug 27 - EU crop monitor cuts 2019 maize, sugar beet yield forecasts
The European Union's crop monitoring service, MARS, on Monday cut its forecast for EU maize and sugar beet yields this year, citing damage from hot and dry weather in western and northern-central Europe. Maize (corn) and sugar beet, mostly harvested in the autumn, have endured record-breaking temperatures together with drought conditions in June and late July in many parts of the bloc.

 Aug 27 - Russian wheat prices depressed by weak global benchmarks, competition
Export prices for Russian wheat fell last week due to a decline in Chicago grain futures, a global benchmark for the market, and stiff competition with other producers, analysts said on Monday. Black Sea prices for wheat with 12.5% protein content fell $3 to $190 a tonne on a free on board (FOB) basis by the end of last week, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said.  

Aug 26 - China July soy imports from U.S. up three-fold as cargoes booked during truce arrive 
China's July soybean imports from the United States jumped three-fold from the previous year, customs data showed on Sunday, as cargoes booked by Chinese state firms during a trade truce arrived. China, the world's top buyer of soybeans, brought in 911,888 tonnes of the oilseed from the United States, up from last year's 308,127 tonnes. The figures were also up 48.3% from 614,805 tonnes in June.

 Aug 26 - Funds scrap bullish views in CBOT corn as U.S. crop concerns wane -Braun
Speculators last week erased their bullish bets in Chicago-traded corn for the first time since May, as the U.S. crop is likely to be larger than many market analysts had predicted. Corn futures shot to five-year highs back in June as constant rains caused record planting delays for the U.S. crop, but the weather has been largely favorable since then, and comfortable global corn supplies have kept demand for the U.S. product in check.

 Aug 26 - China's top feed producer completes construction at its first pig farm overseas
China's top feed producer, New Hope Liuhe, said on Sunday it had completed construction of its first overseas pig farm in Vietnam, seeing potential demand growth in a major market devastated by a severe African swine fever outbreak. The pig farm in Binh Phuoc province, which has an annual production of 300,000 pigs, is one of three that New Hope Liuhe, the agribusiness subsidiary of New Hope Group, invested in recently in the Southeast Asian nation.

   Aug 26 - India plans extra tax on vegetable oil imports to boost domestic output - sources
India plans to impose an extra 5% tax on vegetable oil imports within weeks and use the revenue to help boost the country's stagnating oilseed production, two government sources said. India is the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, buying nearly $10 billion worth a year, its biggest import after crude oil and gold.

Aug 26 - 'Dear Vladimir': VTB asks for Putin's help to create Russian grain champion 
Russian state-controlled bank VTB has asked President Vladimir Putin to help it create a Russian grain champion to curb the role of foreign traders and give the state greater control over exports, a letter seen by Reuters shows. The letter from VTB Chairman Andrey Kostin dated June 26 made the case for why the Kremlin should give VTB the go-ahead for its plan, which would weaken leading Russian grain traders. Along with local firms, global giants Glencore, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and Cofco all trade Russian grain.

Aug 26 - Saudi Arabia to buy 10% of annual wheat from Saudi firms abroad - SAGO
Saudi Arabia's SAGO will buy 10 percent of its annual wheat needs from Saudi-controlled companies based abroad, the state grain buyer said on Saturday. Saudi investors must own at least 51% of such companies and should be able to produce 5,000 tonnes of wheat in the same country to be eligible, it said.

Aug 26 - Trump administration considers boost to biofuel mandates to ease farmer anger - sources 
The Trump administration is considering ramping up biofuel blending quotas in the coming years to assuage anger in the Farm Belt over its recent broad use of waivers for small refineries, but is not planning to rescind any of the exemptions it has granted so far, four sources familiar with the matter said. The approach would mark a mixed result for the agriculture industry and its backers who had been pushing the administration to revoke some of the exemptions, which they argue hurt demand for corn-based ethanol by freeing refiners from their obligation to blend biofuels into their products.

Aug 26 - Zambia introduces maize price cap to keep it affordable 
Zambia has introduced a cap on the price of maize to keep the staple food affordable, sparking protest from commercial farmers who accused the government of bringing back price controls. Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo said on Sunday that millers, stockfeed manufacturers, chain stores and grain traders agreed in a meeting with the government to peg the price of maize at a maximum of 2,600 kwacha ($198.93) per tonne.

Aug 23 - U.S. official says China far short of soybean purchase pledge after small sale 
China has purchased about only half the U.S. soybeans it pledged to buy earlier this year, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said on Thursday, after a small sale was reported amid the two countries' escalating trade war.U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to impose new tariffs on Beijing starting in September, prompting China to say it had halted imports of all U.S. agricultural goods in a trade dispute that threatens growth in the world's two largest economies.

 Aug 23 - On the front lines: Trade war sinks North Dakota soybean farmers 
North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state.
The industry here - on the far northwestern edge of the U.S. farm belt, close to Pacific ports - spent millions on grain storage and rail-loading infrastructure while boosting plantings by five-fold in 20 years. Now, as the world's top soybean importer shuns the U.S. market for a second growing season, Dakota farmers are reeling from the loss of the customer they spent two decades cultivating.

 Aug 23 - Shut out of China, Canada finds canola buyers in drought-damaged Europe 
Crop-scorching drought in Europe is providing Canadian canola farmers a timely new opportunity to move supplies that have piled up since China stopped buying this year. Rising European sales are taking some of the sting out of losing the Chinese market for Canadian farmers, although ICE canola futures prices are down 11% from a year ago.

Aug 23 - U.S. corn yields improving as crop tour reaches west-central Iowa 
Corn yield potential showed signs of improvement across west-central Iowa, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Thursday, but the area was still expected to produce a below-average sized crop after extreme weather delayed planting this past spring. Soybeans were also looking better on the fourth and final day of the Pro Farmer tour, scouts said, a rare bright spot in a U.S. Farm Belt struggling with the U.S.-China trade war in addition to poor crop weather.

Aug 23 - French mayors ban glyphosate weedkiller, defying government 
Some 20 French mayors have banned glyphosate from their municipalities, defying the government, which is now taking legal action to impose national legislation which allows the controversial weedkiller's continued use for now. In 2017, President Emmanuel Macron had pledged to ban glyphosate in France within three years, rejecting a European Union decision to extend its use for five years after heated debate over whether glyphosate, developed by Bayer-owned Monsanto, can cause cancer. But Macron has since said that a blanket ban is not possible within that time frame.

Aug 23 - Indonesia tells some Jakarta supermarkets to remove 'palm oil-free' products 
Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, has told some retailers in Jakarta to remove food products with "palm oil-free" labels from their shops, a government official said, as it seeks to protect its key export. Palm oil is under scrutiny over environmental concerns including in the European Union. The European Commission said earlier this year that palm oil should be phased out from transport fuel in the bloc after it concluded that it causes deforestation.

Aug 23 - Brazil's Imcopa unable to terminate Petrópolis lease early, court says 
A Brazilian judge on Wednesday ruled that Imcopa, one of the country's largest processors of non-genetically modified soybeans, will no longer be able to enforce early termination of a lease agreement related to two soy crushing plants.Imcopa has been going through a bankruptcy reorganization since 2014 and wants to sell the plants to pay back creditors. Last week, Imcopa terminated a 10-year lease on the two plants with brewer Cervejaria Petropolis SA, prompting the beer maker to seek legal remedies.

 

Aug 22 - U.S. farmers, lawmakers dial up pressure on Trump over biofuel policy 
The agriculture and biofuel industries and their U.S. congressional allies ramped up pressure on the Trump administration on Wednesday over the relief he has given oil refiners from rules requiring use of biofuels. Long-suffering American farmers, a constituency President Donald Trump is counting on in his campaign for re-election in 2020, have seen prices for crops hit hard by his trade war with China. 

 Aug 22 - French wheat survey shows moderate protein, strong test weights 
An estimated 89% of this year's French soft wheat crop was showing protein content of 11% or above, partial results from annual quality showed on Wednesday. The findings published by farming agency FranceAgriMer were in keeping with initial indications that most of the 2019 crop would meet the 11% minimum protein generally required by millers. 

Aug 22 - Russian pork producer Rusagro takes stake in domestic competitor
Russian farming conglomerate Rusagro said on Wednesday it has bought a 22.5% stake in local competitor Agro-Belogorie, raising speculation this is a first step to taking a controlling stake to become the country's largest pork producer. Rusagro and Agro-Belogorie are among the five largest pork producers with similar production capacity in Russia, which has seen consolidation in the meat industry in recent years.

Aug 22 - China to speed up subsidies for pigs culled due to African swine fever 
China's cabinet said on Wednesday it will speed up the distribution of subsidies for pigs culled because of African swine fever as part of a plan to stabilise the country's pig production and pork supply. China's rules stipulate that farmers must receive 1,200 yuan ($170) for each pig culled to stop the spread of the deadly disease that has devastated the country's pig industry.

Aug 22 - Thailand approves $682 million in new rice insurance scheme 
Thailand's National Rice Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, on Wednesday announced 21 billion baht ($682 million) in subsidies to help stabilize prices for rice farmers hurt by drought and a strong baht. Under the new rice scheme, the government will agree to pay farmers a fixed price for a set amount of production if market prices fall below benchmark prices during the main harvest seasons.

Aug 21 - Trump White House seeks to assuage farmer unrest over biofuel policy - sources 
President Donald Trump's administration has been scrambling to stem the tide of rising anger in Farm Belt states after its decision this month to allow numerous oil refiners to mix less ethanol into their gasoline, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Trump held a two-hour meeting on Monday with members of his Cabinet after hearing blowback from farmers after the decision to grant exemptions from the nation's biofuel laws to 31 refineries, two sources familiar with the discussions said. Trump's re-election campaign team also took notice of Democratic presidential candidates seizing on the unrest, the sources said.

 Aug 21 - Fearing tobacco's fate, palm oil industry fights back 
On the morning of Feb. 26, executives from a Washington consultancy presented a strategy paper to some of the most powerful officials in the Malaysian palm oil industry. The message: Don't allow environmental activists and Western governments to tarnish palm oil to the extent that it ends up a pariah product, like tobacco.

Aug 21 - As trade war drags on, new Bunge CEO looks to avoid 'stroke-of-the-pen' risk 
A year removed from a losing bet that the U.S.-China trade war would be promptly resolved, global grains trader Bunge Ltd is facing an even more uncertain business environment, with a new chief executive who is determined not to get burned again. Gregory Heckman, who joined Bunge's board late last year and took on the CEO role in January, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday improving risk management at the 200-year-old company is a key focus as he oversees a portfolio review that is expected to last through the middle of 2020.

Aug 21 - Ukraine 2019 wheat harvest and exports seen rising - traders' union 
Ukraine's 2019 wheat harvest is expected to rise to 27.72 million tonnes from 24.83 million tonnes last year, according to data from grain traders' union UZA. Wheat exports could reach 21 million tonnes in the 2019/20 season, which started on July 1, compared with 15.53 million tonnes in 2018/19, the forecast data showed on Tuesday.

Aug 21 - Nebraska corn, soy crop prospects nearly in 3-year average - Pro Farmer crop tour 
Corn and soybean yield prospects for crops growing in Nebraska were down slightly from last year but not far off the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Tuesday. The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour estimated Nebraska corn yields at 172.55 bushels per acre (bpa), down from 179.17 bpa in 2018 but up from the tour's three-year average of 167.73 bpa for the country's No. 3 corn state.

Aug 21 - Indiana corn yields, soy pod counts seen down from 2018 tour - Pro Farmer 
Indiana corn and soybean yield prospects were down from last year and the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Tuesday. Indiana corn yields were projected lower than a year ago at 161.46 bushels per acre, the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour said on Tuesday. That figure is below the 2018 crop tour average of 182.33 bpa and the three-year crop tour average of 175.66.

Aug 21 - Global dairy prices flat, milk powder surges at fortnightly auction 
Global dairy prices were largely flat at an auction early on Wednesday, but key product whole milk powder posted surprisingly strong gains on increased demand from Asia. The GDT Price Index edged down 0.2%, with an average selling price of $3,255 per tonne, having fallen 2.6% at the previous sale two weeks earlier.

Aug 20 - China pig farmer profits soar after disease wipes out third of herd, boosts prices 
Pig breeders in China who have managed to keep fatal African swine fever off their farms since outbreaks began a year ago are now set to reap rewards, with some in line for record profits of $200 per hog thanks to soaring prices. The virus has reached every province of the world's top pork producer. The pig herd shrank a third in July from the same month a year ago, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, though many observers believe half the herd is already gone.

 Aug 20 - USDA's lofty corn, soy yields under scrutiny by U.S. Crop Tour -Braun 
Many agriculture market watchers were perplexed by the larger-than-expected U.S. corn and soybean yields forecast by the Department of Agriculture on Aug. 12, and some of those folks this week will have a chance to get out into the fields to inspect for themselves. U.S. corn was sown at a record-slow pace this spring and soybean planting was close to record slow, so the crops remain developmentally behind schedule. This, along with some pockets of questionable weather across the Midwest, is a big reason why USDA’s 169.5 bushel-per-acre (bpa) corn yield forecast does not sit well with some market participants.

Aug 20 - Romanian wheat cannot meet Algeria's bug damage threshold 
Romanian wheat from this year's harvest is "effectively barred" from Algeria's import tenders due to a strict, 0.1% limit on bug damage, a trading house in southern Romania said on Monday. "That's a really crazy bug content threshold. No Romanian wheat can meet this requirement as the last period was marred by drought here, helping bug levels to pick up," the head of a large trading house told Reuters.

Aug 20 - Pro Farmer crop tour finds below average corn yield in northwest Ohio 
Corn yield potential was far below average in northwestern Ohio, scouts on the annual Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour said on Monday, after a wet spring delayed plantings across wide swaths of the U.S. Midwest. Weather woes and uncertain demand from China due to the ongoing trade war have plagued the Midwest Farm Belt this season. Heavy rains early left some areas with large empty gaps in soybean fields, and recent dry weather appears to be causing some corn plant stress.

Aug 20 - Indonesian planters see drought hitting palm oil output 
Leading palm oil players in Indonesia see production growth being hit in the short to medium term, as the world's top grower of the edible oil faces drought across major planting regions that is expected to delay fruit ripening and lower output. Drought has hit large parts of the archipelago as a mild El Nino disrupts the dry season, weather officials say, with its peak now expected to run from mid-August to mid-September. The number of hotspots have also been increasing.

Aug 19 - India says probing jump in refined palm oil imports from Malaysia 
India has initiated a probe into whether a jump in refined palm oil shipments from Malaysia is causing serious injury to domestic industry, the trade ministry's investigative arm said in a statement. Malaysian exports of refined palm oil to India, the world's biggest importer of edible oils, jumped 727% in the first half of 2019 to 1.57 million tonnes compared with the same period a year before, according to data compiled by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

 Aug 19 - Funds' bullish corn bets survive USDA's bearish surprise - Braun 
The agriculture market last week severely underestimated U.S. corn production ahead of a highly anticipated government report, but speculators were much lighter sellers of Chicago-traded corn than was predicted amid the dramatic market reaction. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 12 placed domestic corn production at 13.9 billion bushels, more than 5% greater than the trade was expecting. That was by far the largest miss on either side of the number in August in at least 20 years, potentially ever.

Aug 19 - Malaysian PM urges Britain to 'break with Europe' on palm oil - Bloomberg 
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday called on Britain to engage with palm oil growers to incentivise sustainable production, rather than pursuing boycotts after its scheduled exit from the European Union (EU) on Oct. 31. Mahathir's comments, carried in on opinion column for news agency Bloomberg, follow a move by the EU to phase out palm oil usage in biofuels. Top growers Indonesia and Malaysia have said they would file a complaint to the World Trade Organization to challenge the move.

Aug 19 - Trump intervention triggered EPA's surprise biofuel waiver decision - sources 
A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump last week ended a nearly two-month-long review of the nation's biofuels program, three sources familiar with the matter said, with the White House siding in favor of oil refiners over corn growers. Trump gave Andrew Wheeler, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the green light for the regulator to announce it had granted 31 small refinery exemptions out of the 40 applications, saying he wanted the issue off his desk, the sources said.

Aug 19 - Crop Watch: Corn, soy yield hopes improve on widespread rain - Braun 
U.S. Crop Watch producers collectively raised their yield expectations for both corn and soybeans this week after most of the locations received much-needed rain. However, those increases were tempered by reductions in both condition and yield in the Eastern Corn Belt as crops there need moisture. Temperatures have generally been very mild and favorable for the crops this summer, but several Crop Watch growers report that slightly above average temperatures would be preferred going forward as the crop lags in maturity.

Aug 19 - Deforestation in Brazil, vote in Argentina endanger EU-Mercosur pact 
Brazil's backsliding on Amazon conservation under right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and a likely Peronist return to power in Argentina could delay or even derail ratification of an EU-Mercosur trade agreement that took two decades to negotiate. Deforestation has surged since Bolsonaro's election last year. His plans to develop the Amazon and moves to weaken rainforestprotection have alarmed environmentalists and given ammunition to European opponents of the trade deal with the South American common market.

Aug 19 - Brazil soybeans coveted by China, local crushing industry 
Brazil's soybean market got another boost this week with local oilseeds processors increasingly competing with Chinese buyers for one of Brazil's most prized export commodities, causing prices in local currency to spike. While traders reported Chinese buying more than 1 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil and Argentina in the last two days alone, farmers have also been selling their beans to local crushers, who need them to produce biofuel and animal feed.

Aug 19 - Canada to pay dairy farmers hurt by trade deals as election nears 
Canada will spend C$1.75 billion ($1.32 billion) over eight years to compensate dairy farmers facing greater competition due to free trade deals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government said on Friday, attempting to satisfy an influential group of voters two months before a national election. The payments to dairy farmers recognize sales they have lost after trade pacts were struck with the European Union and Pacific nations, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in an announcement made at a dairy farm in Compton, Quebec.

Aug 16 - China set to deepen Argentine trade ties with bid for grains "superhighway" 
Chinese state-owned construction giant CCCC is preparing a bid to dredge Argentina's Parana River, the country's main cargo superhighway that takes soy and corn from the Pampas farm belt to the shipping lanes of the south Atlantic and the world. Representatives of China Communications Construction Co Ltd and its Shanghai Dredging unit have met with Argentine government and local port officials to sound out the dredging concession, according to three people involved in the talks, which have not been previously reported.

Aug 16 - NOPA July soy crush tops most estimates, jumps to 168.093 million bushels 
The U.S. soybean crush in July topped most trade estimates and surged from a 21-month low in June to the sixth-highest for any month on record, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released on Thursday. NOPA members, which handle about 95 percent of all soybeans processed in the United States, crushed 168.093 million bushels of soybeans in July, the highest-ever for the month and the largest monthly crush since March, according to NOPA data.

Aug 16 - China bought U.S. pork last week as Beijing declared halt in U.S. farm purchases 
China made its biggest purchases of U.S. pork in seven weeks last week as Beijing said Chinese companies suspended purchases of American agricultural products, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data issued on Thursday. The world's largest pork consumer bought 10,211 tonnes of U.S. pork between Aug. 2-8 for shipment in 2019 as a highly contagious swine disease continued to ravage the Chinese hog herd.

Aug 16 - Strategie Grains raises forecasts for EU wheat harvest and exports 
Strategie Grains has made a sharp increase to its forecasts for European Union production and exports of soft wheat this season, citing strong harvest expectations in France and Britain together with increasingly competitive EU export prices. The French consultancy now sees 2019/20 soft wheat production in the EU at 142.9 million tonnes, up from 140.6 million tonnes projected in July and 12% above last year's drought-hit crop, it said in a monthly grain report.

Aug 16 - Market ideas for U.S. corn yield still clash drastically with USDA - Braun 
Virtually no one in the agriculture market was prepared to see such a high U.S. corn yield from the U.S. government on Monday. This, coupled with a larger-than-expected planted area, sent Chicago corn futures on their steepest two-day fall in more than six years. But Twitter users think U.S. corn yield is likely to end up much lower than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s peg of 169.5 bushels per acre. In fact, USDA’s hefty number hardly swayed the crowd from their expectations prior to Monday’s report.

Aug 16 - Egypt’s GASC buys 295,000 T Russian and Ukrainian wheat in tender 
Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said it bought 295,000 tonnes of wheat on Thursday at an international purchase tender for the grain. GASC said the purchase was comprised of 175,000 tonnes of Russian wheat and 120,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat.

Aug 16 - CFTC says Kraft, Mondelez to pay $16 million in wheat price manipulation case 
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Thursday Kraft Heinz Co and Mondelez International Inc will have to pay $16 million in penalty regarding a wheat manipulation case that dates back to 2015. Kraft Heinz, which was Kraft Foods until 2015, and Mondelez bought $90 million of December 2011 wheat futures, which gave the companies a dominant position in the market, even though they never intended to take possession of the grain, the CFTC said.

Aug 16 - Not-so-golden fleece: Australian wool prices plunge amid Sino-U.S. trade war 
The price of Australian wool favoured by Chinese clothing makers has dropped as much as 20% in the last fortnight, sales reports show, with would-be bidders shunning auctions as the Sino-U.S trade war ramped up. The plunge began immediately after an Aug. 1 announcement from Washington that fresh tariffs on Chinese imports would include clothes and shoes, sapping wool-demand from factories in China that churn out everything from street fashions to sports gear.

Aug 16 - Russia's VTB expands grain export business with acquisition of trader 
Russian state-controlled bank VTB said on Thursday that it had completed its purchase of a 70% stake in local grain trader Mirogroup, expanding the lender's diversification into the grain export business. Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter and the expansion of VTB, the country's second-largest lender, in grain export infrastructure in recent months has been seen by some traders as a sign of the Russian government tightening the grip over the sector.

Aug 15 - EU wheat harvest goes well after heatwave, late rain a worry 
Wheat harvesting is coming to an end in the European Union’s largest producing countries but repeated rain in recent weeks is causing concern about quality loss in some areas, experts said on Wednesday. Harvesting is almost finished in France, Germany and Poland but rain is interrupting work in Britain. In the EU's largest producer France, a big, good quality crop is expected with little impact from the summer heatwave.

 Aug 15 - Brazil 'revisiting' 2018, 2019 soybean output estimates - official 
Brazil is "revisiting" its soybean output estimates for the 2018 and 2019 crop seasons, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, as discrepancies with private-sector estimates raised doubts about the accuracy of the government's supply and demand figures. Guilherme Bastos, director of information and public policy at food statistics agency Conab, mentioned a hefty soybean export forecast from oilseeds association Abiove as one factor triggering the ongoing revision.

Aug 15 - Germany seeks new wheat export markets as Saudi opens to Russia
German wheat exporters are seeking access to new markets including China, Mexico and Indonesia, an industry association said, following signals that Saudi Arabia is about to open up to imports from Russia. Saudi Arabia has been Germany's biggest market for wheat exports in recent years, but German firms face much tougher competition after Saudi state grain buyer SAGO said last Thursday that it will relax quality specifications for wheat imports from its next tender. The move is seen as opening the door to Black Sea imports, especially from Russia. 

Aug 15 - Egypt's GASC seeks wheat for Sept. 15-30 shipment 
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Wednesday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Sept. 15 to 30. GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said the authority was seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Paraguay and Serbia.

Aug 15 - Brazil's JBS posts strong second quarter results, bolstered by Asian demand 
JBS SA, the world's largest meatpacker, on Wednesday reported net income of 2.184 billion reais ($539 million) in the second quarter, beating analysts' expectations as an outbreak of African swine fever in Asia boosted exports. According to a securities filing, the São Paulo-based company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled 5.099 billion reais, an all-time record and above analysts' expectations of 4.535 billion reais.

Aug 15 - Australian wool prices a casualty in U.S.-China trade war
Wool prices in the world's dominant exporter, Australia, are plunging after Chinese mills closed their order books, with buyers citing an escalation in the U.S.-Sino trade war. The price of wool grades popular with Chinese garment makers fell by up to 7% at auctions across the country on Wednesday, sales reports show. Those same grades - popular with Chinese garment-makers - fell by double-digits a week ago.

Aug 14 - Resetting U.S. corn expectations after USDA's acreage shocker - Braun 
For the second time in less than two months, overly aggressive market expectations for the U.S. corn crop tanked Chicago corn futures on Monday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture published its latest round of reports. Analysts did not think it was possible for U.S. farmers to have planted as many acres as were reported on Monday as excessive spring rains led to the most delayed corn planting season perhaps ever. But data has been increasingly supportive of a higher corn acreage than everybody thought.

 Aug 14 - EU imposes duties of up to 18% on Indonesian biodiesel
The European Commission on Tuesday imposed countervailing duties of 8% to 18% on imports of subsidised biodiesel from Indonesia, saying the move aimed to restore a level playing field for European Union producers. "The new import duties are imposed on a provisional basis and the investigation will continue with a possibility to impose definitive measures by mid-December 2019," the EU executive said in a statement.

Aug 14 - Trump avoids becoming the Grinch, but weakens trade hand with China: Russell 
President Donald Trump has inadvertently admitted that the United States no longer holds the whip hand in the ongoing trade dispute with China, after backtracking on his latest escalation of the tariff war. Tariffs of 10% were due to be imposed on the remaining $300 billion of annual imports from China on Sept. 1, but some will now only come into effect on Dec. 15, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office announced on Wednesday. 

Aug 14 - U.S. President Trump asked Japan PM to buy farm products - Kyodo 
U.S. President Donald Trump has directly asked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to buy farm products worth a 'huge amount', Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified Japanese and U.S. government sources. Japan and the United States have agreed to target a broad deal on bilateral trade by September, seeking to bridge differences of opinion over tariffs on beef and the automobile sector, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier this month. 

Aug 14 - Ukraine 2019 wheat harvest 98% complete at 27.9 mln T - ministry 
Ukrainian farmers have almost completed the 2019 wheat harvest, threshing 27.9 million tonnes from 98% of the sown area, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. Ukraine had harvested a total of 38 million tonnes of early grain by Aug. 13, it said, and expects its 2019 grain crop to be in line with last year's level of around 70 million tonnes.

Aug 14 - Swine fever takes toll on profit at Chinese pork giant WH Group 
China's WH Group on Tuesday reported a 16.9% fall in first-half profit as higher meat prices due to a devastating hog disease hurt margins at the world's top pork processor. Profit attributable to owners of the company, before biological fair value adjustments, came to $463 million compared with $557 million a year earlier, while operating profit fell 11.8% to $765 million.

Aug 13 - USDA sees bigger-than-expected U.S. corn crop despite weather threat 
The U.S. corn harvest will be bigger than previously forecast, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday, as the government issued a surprise boost to its outlook despite concerns about a wet spring and dry summer. For the 2019/20 crop year, the corn harvest will total 13.901 billion bushels, based on an average yield of 169.5 bushels per acre, the USDA predicted in its monthly supply and demand report. 

 Aug 13 - Argentina farmers digest primary election shock, wait to export despite weaker peso 
Argentina's key grains export sector became instantly more competitive on Monday when the local peso weakened over 15% against the U.S. dollar, but farmers said they would wait to see where the currency settles before selling. With some analysts forecasting an even weaker peso ahead and growers fearing a return to interventionist economics under the opposition Peronists, selling was muted as Argentines processed President Mauricio Macri's shockingly poor primary performance against challenger Alberto Fernandez.

Aug 13 - Dreyfus sees Brazil, Argentina soy flows surging on U.S.-China dispute 
Global commodities trader Luis Dreyfus Co is prepared for another unusually strong second half for Brazil's soy exports to Asia as the U.S.-China trade war drags on, with Argentina poised to profit as well this year, a senior executive told Reuters. Dreyfus benefited the most from last year's surprise second-half boom in soybean exports to China resulting from U.S. trade tensions, opening an unusual window for South American soy later in the year, when the timing of harvests often favors U.S. soy.

Aug 13 - Crop Watch: More rain preferred for corn, soy, but mild temperatures help - Braun 
U.S. Crop Watch producers’ corn and soybean expectations were mostly unchanged on the week, though soybean potential may be better than previously expected in the northernmost states. Almost every location needed rain a week ago and many have observed some moisture over the last several days, though places like Nebraska, Kansas, and now North Dakota need precipitation to maintain crop potential.

Aug 13 - China cuts 2018/19 soybean import estimates 
China's agriculture ministry said on Monday it has revised down its estimate for 2018/19 soybean imports to 83.5 million tonnes, down 1.5 million tonnes from last month's estimate, due to lower-than-expected shipments in July. The ministry also upgraded its estimate for 2018/19 corn imports to 4 million tonnes, an increase of 700,000 tonnes from the previous month. The revised higher estimate for corn imports was mainly due to a significant reduction in U.S. sorghum imports, it said.

Aug 13 - Tyson to rebuild plant after fire, assures weekly pay for full-time workers 
U.S. meat processor Tyson Foods Inc said on Monday it will rebuild a Kansas beef plant after a fire heavily damaged the facility last week and that full-time, active employees would be paid weekly until production resumes. The company said the plant would be down "indefinitely" after the Friday night fire, which idled some 3,800 workers. 

Aug 12 - Malaysian Cash Market Prices for Palm Oil Unavailable
- Data for a.m. and p.m. Malaysian cash market prices for palm oil are unavailable due to “Eid Ul Adah Mubarak” holiday.

Aug 12 - USDA acreage debate pushes U.S. farmers, grain traders on data hunt  
As severe weather ravaged the U.S. Midwest this spring, agricultural software company Sentera was swamped with frustrated farmers and traders uploading drone videos of waterlogged crop fields. Farmers wanted the Minneapolis-based data company to help analyze how much acreage could still be planted, and spot damaged fields after floods kept farming states underwater for weeks.

 Aug 12 - Crop invaders: China's small farmers struggle to defeat armyworm 
Yan Wenliu leans on the side of his cart as he prepares to leave his sugarcane field in Southwest China, bewildered by the formidable new pest that has ambushed his crops this year. "I don't know what it is," says Yan, a 36-year-old farmer from Menghai county in Yunnan province. "But it is bigger than other ones. I have never seen this worm before." The creature Yan is unable to name is the fall armyworm, the larva of the fall armyworm moth. Known locally as the "heart-devouring worm," the destructive pest has spread more than 3,000 km (1,865 miles) north since migrating from neighbouring Myanmar seven months ago, reaching 21 provinces and regions in China and posing a grave threat to grain output.

 Aug 12 - Bayer mediator dismisses report of $8 bln Roundup settlement 
Bayer AG has not offered to pay billions of dollars to settle claims in the United States related to the Roundup herbicide, mediator Ken Feinberg said, dismissing a report to that effect which drove its shares as much as 11% higher.  "Bayer has not proposed paying $8 billion to settle all the U.S. Roundup cancer claims. Such a statement is pure fiction," Feinberg said in an email on Friday. "Compensation has not even been discussed in the global mediation discussions."

Aug 12 - Funds lighten bullish corn bets ahead of highly anticipated USDA data - Braun
Speculators were sellers of all Chicago-traded grains and oilseeds early last week, but commodity funds are still carrying a decent-sized long position in corn ahead of Monday’s data dump from the U.S. government. The market expects that the U.S. Department of Agriculture report will show U.S. corn production significantly smaller than previously estimated. That is expected to drastically reduce year-end supplies, even though demand for the U.S. grain has been subpar. 

Aug 12 - Trump's EPA grants 31 small refinery waivers from biofuel laws, angering corn lobby 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted 31 small refinery biofuel waivers for 2018 on Friday, infuriating the ethanol and corn producers who blamed the Trump administration for bailing out the oil industry when U.S. farmers were suffering due to trade tariffs and low prices. The waivers from the country's biofuel laws were fewer than previous year's and marked an increase in the number of petitions rejected, but the EPA's decision was still unlikely to satisfy the powerful U.S. corn lobby which wants a broad retrenchment of the biofuel waiver program it blames for undercutting ethanol demand.

Aug 12 - Brazil's BRF swings back to profit as China pig disease bolsters balance sheet 
Brazilian food processor BRF SA, the world's largest chicken exporter, swung back to profit after three quarters of losses as a deadly pig disease in China helped lift meat prices and sales volumes across regions, it said on Friday. An outbreak of African swine fever, which triggered an unprecedented global meat supply imbalance, boosted results, the company said in a statement. Production adjustments in Brazil also helped, with certain plants closed or partially halted to weather weaker demand caused by trade restrictions in past quarters.

Aug 12 - French maize crop ratings dip again as traders weigh weather impact 
The condition of the French grain maize crop declined slightly last week, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday, in a further deterioration for maize after recent hot, dry weather. An estimated 60% of grain maize crops were rated good or excellent in the week ending Aug. 5, down from 61% in the previous week and also below a year-earlier score of 62%, FranceAgriMer said in a weekly cereal crop report.

Aug 12 - India's summer crop planting down 5.3% from last year, gap narrows 
Indian farmers have planted 87 million hectares with summer-sown crops so far, farm ministry data showed on Friday, down 5.3% from last year, narrowing the sowing gap as monsoon rains picked up from the previous week. The planting of rice, a key summer crop, was at 26.5 million hectares on Friday, against 30.4 million hectares at the same time last year, the ministry said. Corn planting was at 7.2 million hectares, unchanged from the same period last year.

Aug 12 - Ukraine's 2019 early grain harvest 95% complete - ministry 
Ukraine, which expects its 2019 grain crop to be in line with last year's level of around 70 million tonnes, had harvested 36.8 million tonnes of early grains by Aug. 9, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. Farmers have threshed 9.5 million hectares of grains or 95% of the early grains sown area, the ministry said in a statement.

Aug 09 - Saudi boosts Russia ties with welcome for Black Sea wheat 
Saudi Arabia will relax its bug-damage specifications for wheat imports from its next tender onwards, it told Reuters on Thursday, opening the door to Black Sea imports and strengthening ties with Russia beyond energy cooperation. Russia has long sought access to Saudi Arabia's wheat market as Moscow tries to take further market share in Middle Eastern and North African wheat markets from the European Union and United States. 

 Aug 09 - U.S. confirms light soy, wheat, pork sales to China before latest tariff threats
China bought small amounts of U.S. soybeans, wheat, sorghum and pork last week ahead of the latest escalation of trade tensions with Washington, according to U.S. government data issued on Thursday, in what may be the last American farm commodity sales to China for the foreseeable future. China's Ministry of Commerce said this week that purchases of U.S. agricultural products by Chinese companies have been "suspended."

Aug 09 - U.S. Midwest farm economy hit hard by record floods - Fed banks 
U.S. farm incomes in the Midwest and Mid-Southern states declined yet again in the second quarter of 2019, as record floods devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt, according to banker surveys released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Kansas City. Nearly two-thirds of the bankers surveyed by the St. Louis Fed said a majority of their farm customers were either significantly or modestly impacted by the flooding and other adverse weather earlier this year.

Aug 09 - Pork producers win dismissal of price-fixing lawsuits - U.S. judge 
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed antitrust lawsuits accusing several U.S. pork companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $20 billion-a-year market, in order to inflate prices and their own profits at the expense of consumers and other purchasers. Chief Judge John Tunheim of the federal court in Minneapolis said the plaintiffs failed to show "parallel conduct" among the companies, whose combined U.S. market share exceeds 80%, to suggest they had conspired beginning in 2009 to fix prices.

Aug 09 - Trade estimates for U.S. corn, soy crops could lead the market astray - Braun 
Monday is going to bring much-needed clarity to the agriculture market with fresh U.S. government data on the U.S. corn and soybean crops after an extremely volatile start to the season. The market is most unhappy with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current corn acreage number because many do not believe farmers were able to plant given the excessive spring moisture. Corn yield, soybean area and soybean yield are not too contested from USDA’s most recent view, but the yield ideas are pretty narrow and the corn acreage numbers are very one-sided.

Aug 09 - Brazil corn plantings to grow as farmers expect good pricing - poll 
Brazilian farmers are forecast to plant more corn in the 2019/2020 crop season as they expect favorable prices amid problems affecting the U.S. corn harvest and record Brazilian exports of the commodity this year. According to a Reuters poll on Thursday, Brazilian corn farmers are planning to increase planted area by 3.46% in the season that will begin around September, and are expected to harvest an estimated 101.91 million tonnes of the crop, setting a new record.

Aug 09 - Argentina's Bioceres stock hits four-month high after USDA nod 
Shares of Argentine biotechnology company Bioceres were up more than 13% on Thursday after it said it received a green light from the United States Department of Agriculture for a variety of drought-resistant soybean. A representative for Bioceres told Reuters the company plans to hold off on the commercialization of the soybean seed known as HB4 until it receives consent from China, a major importer, expected by the end of 2020.

Aug 08 - China July soy imports hit nearly 1-year high on better crush margins
China's soybean imports in July rose 8% from a year earlier, to their highest level in almost a year, customs data showed on Thursday, as importers increased their purchases of Brazilian beans on higher crush margins. China took in 8.64 million tonnes of soybeans in July, up from 8 million in the same month last year, the General Administration of Customs said. That is up 33% from 6.51 million tonnes in June and the highest since August 2018.

 Aug 08 - U.S.-China trade war boosts Brazil local soy prices, spurs deals
The price of Brazilian soybeans in local currency reached the highest level in almost two months, driven by a spike in port premiums for soybeans and a weaker currency, both caused by the trade dispute between China and the United States. Prices in Sorriso, at the heart of Brazil's soy country in the state of Mato Grosso, closed at 62.31 reais ($15.67) per bag on Tuesday, 0.81% above the previous day and the highest level since June 18, according to price research center Cepea/Esalq.  

Aug 08 - China's commodity imports surge, confound trade war fears: Russell
Forget the drop in the dollar value of China's imports in July, the important numbers were the bumper purchases of major commodities including crude oil, coal, iron ore and copper. The 5.6% drop in the dollar value of July imports is almost irrelevant and most likely a reflection of lower commodity prices rather than any weakness in the Chinese economy.

Aug 08 - Mexican trade chief slams U.S. demand on tomato inspections as 'unacceptable'
A top Mexico trade negotiator on Tuesday slammed a U.S. proposal to inspect all Mexican tomato exports as "totally unacceptable," saying the measure would trigger a logistical "collapse" in cross-border trade. Jesus Seade, Mexico's deputy foreign minister for North America, added that the U.S. demand posed a final obstacle to closing a deal with the United States that would end a tariff imposed by the Trump administration.

Aug 08 - Brazil's pork exports in July hit record volume for 2019
Brazilian pork exports in July reached 67,900 tonnes, a 0.4% drop compared with the same month of 2018 but still the largest monthly volume this year, meat association ABPA said on Wednesday. Shipments have been growing this year due to increased demand from China, which is suffering the effects of African swine fever and a shrinking domestic supply of pork.

Aug 08 - Bayer says next glyphosate lawsuit likely to be postponed
Germany's Bayer said the next U.S. lawsuit scheduled to be heard over claims that its glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup causes cancer would likely be postponed. Bayer, which acquired the weedkiller as part of its purchase of Monsanto last year, was initially scheduled to face its first trial outside California in St. Louis, Missouri, on Aug. 19, brought by Illinois resident Sharlean Gordon, who blames her non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on using Roundup at home. 

Aug 08 - Australian regulator flags concerns over Saputo's Tasmanian cheese business buyout
Australia's competition watchdog on Thursday raised concerns about Canadian dairy firm Saputo Inc's acquisition of the Australian specialty cheese business of Japan's Kirin Holdings. The deal would lead to a combination of the processing plants of the second and third biggest buyers of raw milk in the state of Tasmania, which currently compete separately with the biggest buyer, Fonterra.

Aug 08 - Sausage-loving Germans chew over meat tax plan
German lawmakers on Wednesday proposed raising the sales tax on meat to help protect the climate and improve animal welfare, kindling a debate in a country renowned for its love of sausages. Meat in Germany benefits from a reduced value added tax rate of 7%, and the idea is to raise that to the standard 19%.

Aug 08 - Amid rising hunger, Venezuela plantain crops threatened by fungus -agronomists
Venezuela's banana and plantain crops face potential infestation of a fungus already effecting neighboring Colombia, an agronomists association said on Wednesday, potentially devastating one of Venezuela's main foods amid rising hunger. A hyperinflationary economic collapse has left millions of the OPEC member's citizens unable to obtain enough calories and has pushed diets toward starchy staples that grow readily in its tropical climate.

Aug 08 - DSM to file for Brazil registration of methane-reducing feed additive
DSM, a Dutch health and nutrition company, will imminently file for Brazilian registration of a new feed additive for cows that can cut methane emissions by around 30%, a company executive told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. Methane is a natural byproduct of digestion in cows and other ruminants, the majority of which is released into the atmosphere through burping and breathing, according to company disclosures.

Aug 07 - Trump vows to help farmers as China halts U.S. agricultural purchases 
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to protect American farmers against China by signaling to provide further aid if needed, a day after Chinese firms stopped agricultural purchases and Beijing threatened more tariffs on U.S. farm products. "Our great American Farmers know that China will not be able to hurt them in that their President has stood with them and done what no other president would do - And I’ll do it again next year if necessary!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

 Aug 07 - Egypt's GASC buys 415,000 T of Russian, Romanian and Ukrainian wheat 
Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), bought 415,000 tonnes of wheat on Tuesday at an international tender for the grain, it said. GASC said the purchase included 115,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat, 240,000 tonnes of Russian wheat and 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat.

Aug 07 - Brazil's new soy crop area seen growing 2.3% to 36.7 mln hectares 
Brazil's new soybean crop, which farmers are expected to start planting next month, is seen reaching 36.7 million hectares (90.68 million acres), an area 2.3% larger than seen in the previous crop, according to the average forecast from a poll of analysts. Output of the new crop was seen on average at 122.8 million tonnes, 6.8% more than in the previous season, according to the poll. Analysts said expansion of soy planting will probably be limited by China's swine flu outbreak, lower global soy prices and the potential for higher transportation costs in Brazil.

Aug 07 - Marfrig, ADM to produce plant-based meat in Brazil 
Brazil's Marfrig Global Foods SA, the world's largest hamburger producer, said on Tuesday it has reached an agreement with U.S.-based agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland Co to produce and market vegetable protein products in Brazil. ADM, which trades and processes grains and oilseeds, will supply raw materials, and Marfrig said it will produce, distribute and sell the plant-based meat to restaurants and retailers.

Aug 07 - Brazil raises biodiesel blend in diesel to 11% from 10% 
The Brazilian government has approved an increase to 11% from 10% in the amount of biodiesel to be blended into all diesel sold in the country, oil and fuels regulator ANP said on Tuesday. The measure will be implemented from Sept. 1, said ANP, which has already made changes to the volumes expected to be traded at a biodiesel auction to be held in August 12.

Aug 07 - Brazil farm minister postpones China trip amid delay in meat export approvals
Brazil's agriculture minister has postponed a trip to China originally set for August to September, a ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, as industry groups said pending approvals to export meat to China were taking longer than expected. The spokesman said Minister Tereza Cristina Dias now intends to go in September but gave no reason for postponing the trip.

Aug 07 - France increases wheat crop estimate, cautious on maize
France's farm ministry raised its estimate for the soft wheat harvest by more than 1 million tonnes, adding to expectations that a bumper wheat crop was unscathed by record-breaking heatwaves. However, it warned that hot weather and drought was raising question marks over the maize harvest, though its initial production outlook was for an increase from last year's level.

Aug 07 - Mosaic cuts profit view; cites bad weather, weak phosphate margins
U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co cut its full-year earnings forecast and posted a lower-than-expected profit, as rains and flooding in the United States hit its volumes and phosphates margins, sending its shares down as much as 12.3%. Severe flooding in the U.S. farm belt across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and several other states delayed spring farming and has hit agricultural companies like Mosaic, which sell fertilizers directly to farmers.

Aug 06 - U.S. farmers suffer 'body blow' as China slams door on farm purchases 
Chinese companies have stopped buying U.S. agricultural products, China's Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday, a blow to U.S. farmers who have already seen their exports slashed by the more than year-old trade war. China may also impose additional tariffs on U.S. farm products, the Ministry said, raising the barrier to future trade that further targets rural states that supported U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

 Aug 06 - U.S. corn exports dwarfed by Brazil; soy shipments ride on China -Braun 
U.S. corn shipments fell to a 19-month low in June, and they were unlikely to have done much better in July as elevated prices and foreign competition continued to suppress export business for the world’s top corn supplier. Meanwhile, U.S. soybean exports were record large for the month as shippers look to fulfill the large amount of outstanding sales to top buyer China.

Aug 06 - Marfrig, ADM to produce plant-based meat in Brazil 
Brazil's Marfrig Global Foods SA, the world's largest hamburger producer, said on Tuesday it has reached an agreement with U.S.-based Archer Daniels Midland Co to produce and market vegetable protein products in Brazil. Grains-trader ADM will be responsible for supplying the main raw material used in the development of the plant-based products. Marfrig said it will produce, distribute and sell the plant-based meat to restaurants and retailers.

Aug 06 - Tyson Foods hits record high after beating estimates, prepares for China profit boost 
Tyson Foods Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Monday and reaffirmed expectations it will profit from the spread of a fatal hog disease in China, sending shares to a record high. Tyson has not yet reaped major financial gains from the deaths of millions of pigs in China's outbreak of African swine fever, Chief Executive Noel White said. China is still working its way through frozen meat supplies, but could begin to increase imports of U.S. pork to fill a shortfall as soon as October, he said.

Aug 06 - COFCO plans to boost Brazil ops, sees improving business outlook 
Chinese commodities trader COFCO plans to increase investments in Brazilian operations as the business environment in the country is likely to improve after approval of economic reforms, the company's chairman, Johnny Chi, said on Monday. Speaking at Brazil's 2019 Agribusiness Congress, Chi said COFCO is looking at investments such as new warehouses and improving transportation systems in Brazil.

Aug 06 - Crop Watch: Dryness trims corn yield hopes, rain needs are heightened - Braun 
Most of the Crop Watch corn and soybean fields went without rain for another week last week, and the dryness is becoming especially critical for the corn in Indiana and Kansas, as producers there reduced yield potential this week. Producers remain cautiously optimistic that the soybeans have withstood the dry spell without losses, but potential may decline in a week or two if the rain does not return.

Aug 06 - Brazil's faster agrochemical approvals not harming environment - minister 
Brazil's Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias, responding to criticism from environmentalists, on Monday said the government's recent accelerated approvals of agrochemicals are not detrimental to food safety and the environment. Dias hailed farmers' efforts at preserving land and said faster approval of agrochemicals means more technology at the disposal of farmers.

Aug 06 - Brazil's recent frosts seen as less damaging for wheat crop 
Frosts on the weekend were less intense and widespread than at the beginning of last month in Brazil's number 1 wheat producer Paraná state, signaling that August will probably see less damage to crops, the state's rural economy department Deral said on Monday. "At first sight, the frost was less of a problem than the July 6 frost. It was not as cold," said Deral wheat specialist Carlos Hugo Godinho.

Aug 05 - U.S. cows and pigs gorge on bakery rolls, pet food as corn prices surge 
U.S. farmers are feeding their livestock everything from outdated pet food and leftover bakery rolls to crops imported from South America after unprecedented spring planting delays boosted prices for locally grown corn. Corn is typically used to fatten hogs, cattle and poultry, but its high price has farmers in the $150 billion U.S. meat and dairy industry looking elsewhere to keep down costs.

 Aug 05 - Trump, EU officials announce deal to sell more American beef to Europe 
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal on Friday to sell more American beef to Europe, a modest win for an administration that remains mired in a trade war with China, but he said tariffs on European auto exports remain a possibility. The European Commission has stressed that any beef deal will not increase overall beef imports and that all the beef coming in would be hormone-free, in line with EU food safety rules. The deal needs European Parliament approval.

Aug 05 - U.S. bill raising debt ceiling for farm bankruptcies heads to White House 
With farm bankruptcies rising and agricultural debt loads soaring, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill that will make it easier for more farmers with larger amounts of debt to file for bankruptcy protection. The bipartisan bill - called the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 - raises the ceiling on how much debt producers who file for Chapter 12 bankruptcy can have, to $10 million from the previous $4 million.

Aug 05 - Funds continue selling CBOT corn and soybeans amid benign U.S. weather - Braun 
The U.S. corn crop may have gotten its latest-ever start this spring, but speculators’ bullish bets have lost steam in recent weeks as the weather has not been outwardly threatening for crop development. In the week ended July 30, hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long in CBOT corn futures and options to 111,952 contracts from 153,216 contracts, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

Aug 05 - Bulgaria to compensate owners who cull pigs to help stamp out swine fever 
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said the Balkan state's government will compensate owners who voluntarily cull their domestic pigs, as the country works to stamp out an outbreak of the highly contagious African swine fever. Almost 130,000 pigs have been killed on six breeding farms in the Black Sea country in the past two weeks. Authorities have so far detected 30 incidents of the incurable disease, which is deadly to pigs but harmless to humans, at industrial or backyard farms. 

Aug 05 - Malaysia July palm stocks to see first gain in 5-months - Reuters survey 
Malaysian palm oil stockpiles likely rose for the first time in five months, edging up to a three-month high, as production gains outpaced a rise in exports, a Reuters survey showed. Inventories in Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, are forecast to have gained 1.8% from the previous month to 2.47 million tonnes at end-July, according to a median estimate of seven planters, traders and analysts polled by Reuters. 

Aug 05 - India's summer crop planting down 6.6% from last year, likely to pick up 
Indian farmers have planted 78.8 million hectares with summer-sown crops so far, farm ministry data showed on Friday, down 6.6% from last year mainly due to a weak start to the monsoon. The outlook is better, however, as monsoon rains are expected to be plentiful in August and September. Farmers generally start planting rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane and peanuts, among other crops, from June 1, when monsoon rains typically arrive in India. Sowing usually lasts until July.

Aug 05 - Ukraine's July 27-Aug 2 sea port grain exports rise on week - APK-Inform 
Ukrainian grain exports from sea ports during the week of July 27-August 2 increased to 1.09 million tonnes from 861,000 tonnes a week earlier due to higher wheat shipments, preliminary data from APK-Inform consultancy showed on Monday. Corn exports rose to 121,000 tonnes from 79,000 tonnes the previous week, while wheat shipments jumped to 724,000 tonnes from 422,000 tonnes, the consultancy said. The export of barley decreased to 245,000 tonnes from 360,000 tonnes.

Aug 05 - Brazil's Amaggi to raise cotton area, cut corn and soy acreage - executive 
Brazil's privately owned grain farmer and trader Amaggi will reduce soy and corn plantings in the coming season and increase cotton acreage after betting high on the latter commodity, a company executive said on Friday. Pedro Valente, Amaggi's director general, said at a farming event in São Paulo that the firm intends to plant 101,000 hectares (249,576 acres) of cotton in the 2019-2020 crop, 15,000 hectares (37,066 acres) more than last season.

Aug 02 - U.S. confirms small soybean sale to private Chinese buyer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed a private Chinese company bought 68,000 tonnes of soybeans in the week ended July 25, the first soybean purchase since Beijing offered to exempt five crushers from import tariffs imposed more than a year ago as part of a U.S.-China trade dispute. Soybean prices remained lower on Thursday due to the small amount, however. U.S. President Donald Trump and other top officials said Chinese President Xi Jinping promised large agricultural purchases he met Trump at the G20 summit in Japan a month ago to restart stalled trade talks. 

 Aug 02 - ADM profit plunges as floods, U.S.-China trade war batter grain handler
Global grain trader and food processor Archer Daniels Midland Co on Thursday reported a 41.3% drop in second-quarter adjusted profit and missed Wall Street expectations, after being battered by the U.S.-China trade war and severe U.S. weather this spring that disrupted production and transportation. The Chicago-based company's performance so far this year represents a sharp reversal of fortunes from last year, when ADM's profits surged after a drought in Argentina and the U.S.-China trade dispute boosted its trading and oilseed processing businesses.

Aug 02 - Bayer sees potential future business in plant-based meat market
A Bayer executive on Thursday said the company was closely watching the plant-based meat market which has seen booming demand in recent years, adding that Bayer could potentially enter the market as an alternative protein source provider. "They are sourcing different types of crops and that also could create opportunity for us, being a company that is a plant-breeding company," Bob Reiter, Bayer's head of research and development at the company's crop science division, said in reference to plant-based meat companies.

Aug 02 - Australia's GrainCorp braces for loss as drought bites
Australian bulk grain handler GrainCorp Ltd said on Friday it expects to report its first loss in a decade in 2019 as it struggles with drought, knocking its shares down by 10%. Severe dry weather has threatened grain production across Australia's east coast, where GrainCorp derives nearly all its income, slashing revenues from crop storage and export.

Aug 02 - Canada crop tour sees smaller canola crop after reduced plantings, dry spring
Canadian farmers are likely to reap a smaller canola crop in 2019-20 due to reduced plantings and dry conditions, consultancy FarmLink Marketing Solutions said on Thursday after a crop tour of the prairie provinces. The Grain World tour on Tuesday and Wednesday, organized by FarmLink, visited fields in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to observe conditions and calculate yield estimates.

Aug 02 - Macquarie snaps up 49% of cotton farm Cubbie Station from China's Ruyi
Australia's Macquarie Group has purchased a 49% stake in cotton farm Cubbie Station, one of Southern Hemisphere's largest irrigation farms, from its majority owner Chinese conglomerate Ruyi Group, according to local media. The sale comes seven years after Australia's government in 2012 approved Ruyi's A$232 million ($158.04 million) purchase of an 80 percent share in Cubbie on condition it would cut its stake to 51% within three years. 

Aug 02 - Brazil soy exports lag as Chinese demand wanes, corn hits record
Brazil's soybean exports fell in July due to weaker demand from the world's largest importer, China, but corn exports from the South American country hit a monthly high in July, government data showed on Thursday. Soybean exports from the world's largest supplier fell by 23% to 7.82 million tonnes last month, the data showed.

Aug 02 - Targeted insurance offers French farmers some drought relief
Hundreds of French farmers who signed up for specialist policies aimed at insuring against freak weather are getting swift payouts which could help them recover from heatwaves and prolonged droughts that hit parts of the country. The payments underline how so-called parametric policies, which pay out when a pre-agreed event such as a hurricane of specific intensity occurs, are becoming a growth market for insurers in developed economies as global temperatures rise.

Aug 01 - Bunge posts profit on South America, gain from Beyond Meat investment
Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd swung to a profit in the second quarter from a year-ago loss, helped by improved results at its South American operations. Bunge also reported an unrealized gain from the company's stake in Beyond Meat Inc, meaning it could profit from the plant-based burger venture if it sells its nearly 980,000 shares, a roughly 1.6 percent interest according to the latest government filing. 

 Aug 01 - China allows barley imports from seven regions in Russia
China has approved barley imports from Russia, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement on its website on Thursday. Barley exported to China must be produced in seven regions in Russia, including Novosibirsk and Kurgan, which are considered to be free of the fungal disease dwarf bunt that can infect winter wheat and barley crops, said the statement, dated July 29.

Aug 01 - Cool start to August may not benefit lagging U.S. corn crop - Braun
In a normal year, about three-quarters of U.S. corn would be reaching maturity exactly two months from now. But given that an unprecedented portion of the 2019 crop was planted very late due to heavy spring rains, this and a cool August forecast could prevent some corn from crossing the finish line. July was warmer than normal across most of the U.S. Corn Belt, especially in the eastern portions where planting delays were the worst. A warm July is not normally favorable as pollination usually kicks off the month, but it was seen as helpful this year with the crop so far behind in development.

Aug 01 - India 2019-20 cotton output estimate revised slightly lower - USDA
Indian cotton production for the 2019-20 season is seen at 29 million 480 lb bales, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attache in New Delhi said in a report on Wednesday, down 1% from earlier estimates. The production decline is the result of reduced plantings in central Maharashtra, where farmers are shifting towards soybeans as well as in Karnataka, where farmers are switching to pulses and corn, the attache said.

Aug 01 - India's monsoon rains to make up early shortfall - weather chief
Monsoon rains in the coming weeks are likely to make up for a shortfall in the first two months of the season that began in June, the head of India's state-run weather office said on Wednesday, boosting prospects for the agricultural sector. "We are going to see some rapid recovery in the monsoon and the rainfall shortage is expected to come down sharply in the next couple of days," K.J. Ramesh, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told Reuters in an interview.

Aug 01 - Brazil could see record 2019-20 soy, corn harvest depending on weather - Datagro
Brazil could see record corn and soy harvests in the 2019-20 season dependent on good weather, as farmers are expected to broaden plantings, Datagro Consultoria said on Wednesday. Brazil, which is the world's largest soy exporter and could become the biggest producer in the upcoming season, is expected to expand the soybean planted area by 2% to 36.8 million hectares, a record, Datagro Consultoria said.

Aug 01 - Ukraine wheat rises $4 in July, traders eye currency rate
Ukrainian milling wheat rose $3-4 per tonne FOB Black Sea in July as export demand jumped, but a substantial strengthening in the hryvnia currency may lead to a drop in grain supply to the market, traders said on Wednesday. Ukraine, which is among the world's leading grain exporters, had harvested 22.8 million tonnes of wheat from 83% of its sowing area as of July 30, agriculture ministry data showed.

Aug 01 - Australia's Nufarm cuts 2019 outlook, turns to Japan's Sumitomo for cash
Australian crop protection company Nufarm Ltd on Thursday cut its fiscal 2019 earnings guidance and said it would raise about A$97.5 million ($66.8 million) through a share placement with Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd. The company expects underlying core earnings for the year to July 31, 2019 of about A$420 million ($288 million), compared with its previous guidance of A$440 to A$470 million, Nufarm said in a statement.

Aug 01 - Fifth Bulgarian pig farm hit by African swine fever
Bulgarian authorities said on Wednesday that they would cull another 17,000 pigs after detecting an outbreak of African swine fever at a breeding farm in the north of the country, the fifth hit by the fast-spreading virus this month. The outbreak was detected at a farm in a village near the Danube town of Svishtov. More than 100,000 pigs have already been culled at four other farms in the past two weeks.

Jul 31 - China to inspect Argentine crushers, could unlock No. 1 soymeal market
A Chinese delegation is set to visit Argentina in August to inspect soymeal crushing plants, Argentine government and industry officials told Reuters, a key step as the South American country looks to open up exports of processed soy to the world's No. 1 consumer. Argentina, the top global soymeal exporter, has tried for years to break into the China market, the biggest consumer of the meal which it uses to feed its giant hog herd. China, with its own crushing industry to protect, has steadfastly resisted.

 Jul 31 - Malaysia could replace Indonesia as top palm oil supplier to India - trade
Malaysia is set to replace Indonesia as the top palm oil supplier to India in 2019 as New Delhi has been charging lower import tax on refined palm oil shipments from Malaysia, giving Kuala Lumpur an edge over Jakarta, trade officials said. The rise in refined palm oil shipments will help refiners in Malaysia and bring down inventories of tropical oil in the world's second bigger producer, but squeeze Indian refiners that traditionally import crude palm oil. India is the world's biggest importer of palm oil.

Jul 31 - Bulk of Trump's U.S. farm aid goes to biggest and wealthiest farmers - advocacy group
More than half of the Trump administration's $8.4 billion in trade aid payments to U.S. farmers through April was received by the top 10% of recipients, the country's biggest and most successful farmers, a study by an advocacy group showed on Tuesday. Highlighting an uneven distribution of the bailout, which was designed to help offset effects of the U.S.-China trade war, the Environmental Working Group said the top 1% of aid recipients received an average of more than $180,000 while the bottom 80% were paid less than $5,000 in aid.

Jul 31 - USDA June soybean crush seen at 159.4 mln bushels
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to report that 4.782 million short tons, or 159.4 million bushels, of soybeans were crushed at U.S. processing plants in June, according to the average forecast of eight analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of monthly data. Estimates ranged from 158.6 million bushels to 161.0 million bushels, with a median of 159.1 million. The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly fats and oils report at 2 p.m. CDT (1900 GMT) on Thursday.

Jul 31 - Bayer cancels plans to sell U.S. crop product in 2020 over safety concerns
Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops from yield-robbing worms, citing ongoing safety concerns. The decision is the latest setback for Germany-based Bayer following its acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Bayer is separately battling thousands of lawsuits claiming Monsanto's glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer, allegations the company denies. 

Jul 31 - For China, U.S. soybeans are small fry; crude, LNG, coal are the main game: Russell
China's purchase of some U.S. soybeans is being viewed as a tentative sign of a little détente in the dispute between the world's two largest economies, but real progress would be a resumption of what had been a burgeoning energy trade. U.S. and Chinese negotiators are meeting for two days of talks in Shanghai starting on Tuesday amid modest expectations for progress to resolve the trade imbroglio that has resulted in tit-for-tat tariffs being imposed on billions of dollars worth of imports and exports. 

Jul 31 - Fertilizer dealer Nutrien sees big corn comeback in 2020, following U.S. floods
Fertilizer producer and farm supply dealer Nutrien Ltd expects U.S. farmers to plant as many as 95 million acres (38.5 million hectares) of corn next year, the most in seven years, after a frustrating year of floods, its chief executive said. The wet conditions left millions of acres unplanted across the U.S. farm belt, but have also lifted corn prices and given farmers incentive to sow more next year, Chief Executive Chuck Magro said on a quarterly conference call on Tuesday.

Jul 31 - Canal Sugar to build grains terminal in Egypt's Damietta
Canal Sugar, owned by Dubai-based Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery, plans to build a pier and grains terminal in Egypt's port city of Damietta with $200 million in investments, its CEO said on Tuesday. The new terminal will have discharge capacity of 3,000 tonnes of grains per hour, CEO Islam Salem told a news conference. The company expects to finalise a contract with the government for the pier and terminal by the end of the year, Salem said in response to a Reuters question.

Jul 31 - Heatwave ensures rapid progress for EU wheat harvest
The heatwave in the European Union’s main wheat producers last week helped farmers to make rapid progress with harvesting, with some crop forecasts being raised, experts said on Tuesday. Record high temperatures in France, Germany and Britain created ideal conditions for wheat harvesting, with the dry, warm weather allowing mechanical combine harvesters to operate at full capacity.

Jul 31 - EPA chief defends biofuel waivers in meeting with farm senators - sources
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defended his agency's expanded use of waivers exempting refineries from the country's biofuel law during a closed-door meeting with farm state senators last week, arguing the program has had no negative impact on ethanol demand, according to four sources with knowledge of the meeting. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler's comments are a sign he may resist an overhaul of the so-called Small Refinery Exemption program, which President Donald Trump last month ordered members of his Cabinet to review based on complaints from the corn lobby. The EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are preparing to hold a cabinet-level meeting on the issue as soon as this week, two of the same sources said.

Jul 31 - Brazil's JBS invests in new biodiesel plant amid clean fuel push
A unit of Brazil's JBS SA plans to invest 180 million reais ($47.5 million) to build a biodiesel plant entering service by 2021, as the company looks to cash in on Brazil's accelerating clean fuel drive, according to a statement on Tuesday. Seara Alimentos, JBS' processed foods unit, will use fat and scraps from pork and poultry as raw material for biodiesel. JBS, the world's largest meat producer, added the new plant in Santa Catarina state will double the company's biodiesel capacity to over 600 million liters per year.

Jul 30 - U.S. soybean exports to China rise, but big purchases remain elusive
U.S. government data on Monday showed exports of soybeans to China picking up to the most in five months last week ahead of trade talks between the two countries in Shanghai, although the shipments were for beans bought months ago and new purchases have proven elusive. China has yet to make the large agricultural purchases U.S. President Donald Trump and other top officials say were promised when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan a month ago to restart stalled trade talks. 

 Jul 30 - China's pig herd may shrink by 50% due to African swine fever - Rabobank
China's pig herd could halve by the end of 2019 from a year earlier as an epidemic of African swine fever sweeps through the world's top pork producer, analysts at Dutch bank Rabobank forecast on Tuesday. The bank said China's herd, by far the world's biggest, was already estimated to have shrunk by 40% from a year ago, well above official estimates which have ranged from 15% to 26%. 

Jul 30 - Germany's Bayer dealt new legal blow as more Brazil farmers challenge soy patent
Germany's Bayer AG, which completed the takeover of U.S.-based Monsanto last year, has been dealt a legal blow in Brazil as more farmers joined a lawsuit challenging the protection of a key soy seed patent. A Brasília appeals court authorized producers from another 10 states to join Mato Grosso state farmers as plaintiffs in a case challenging the validity of Monsanto's Intacta RR2 PRO patent, according to court filings.

Jul 30 - Crop Watch: Rain needed as producers remain cautious on yield hopes - Braun
Last week’s seasonably mild temperatures for the U.S. Crop Watch corn and soybean fields were favorable given the drier conditions. But more than half of the producers report that their crops need rain now, and the near-term forecasts are not necessarily generous with the moisture. Crop Watch 2019 follows one corn and one soybean field in eight major U.S. Corn Belt states, reporting on weekly progress as of Sunday. These are the same eight growers who participated in the 2018 version of Crop Watch.  Jul 30 - African cattle investing - the new cash cow? 
Cattle have long been considered a measure of wealth across Africa - but it is not just farmers cashing in. A pioneering app in South Africa lets investors, eager to benefit from rising global beef demand, buy shares in a cow from their mobile phone for as little as 576 rand ($41).

Jul 30 - Brexit means a "better deal" for farmers, PM Johnson tells Wales
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell Welsh farmers on Tuesday they will get a better deal after Brexit, part of a countrywide tour to win support for his "do or die" pledge to leave the European Union by Oct. 31. Just days after taking office as prime minister, Johnson kicked off the domestic tour, underlining his desire to win Britain over rather than courting EU leaders to try to persuade them to change their minds on a divorce deal he says is dead.

Jul 30 - Milling wheat share in Ukraine crop seen reaching as much as 70%
The share of milling wheat in Ukraine's 2019 wheat harvest is likely to rise to as much as 70% from around 55% in 2018 thanks to hot and dry weather, analysts and traders said on Monday. Hot conditions across Ukraine in May and June were ideal for a high-quality wheat harvest, pushing up the proportion of food-grade wheat in the crop and creating a shortage of grain for animal feed, which has seen a consequent rise in prices.

Jul 29 - Beijing says millions of tonnes of U.S. soy shipped to China, U.S. data reflects less
Chinese state media said on Sunday the United States has shipped several million tonnes of soybeans to China since the two countries' leaders met in June, although U.S. government data shows that the volume was much less. The U.S.-China trade war has curbed the export of U.S. crops to China, with soybean sales falling sharply after Beijing slapped tariffs of 25% on American cargoes.

 Jul 29 - U.S. ethanol industry nearing breaking point - Green Plains CEO
The U.S. ethanol industry is about to break under the weight of the Trump Administration's trade war with China and the surge in the number of small refineries exempted from the nation's biofuel laws, said Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains. The U.S. ethanol industry was preparing for growth in recent years, but the momentum has stalled in the face of President Donald Trump's trade war with China, a major buyer, and his administration's decision to align itself with the oil industry on demand-cutting waivers from biofuel laws, Becker said.

Jul 29 - India rice exports could hit 7-year low on weak demand, higher prices - industry
India's rice exports are likely to fall to their lowest level in seven years, industry officials say, as weak demand from African countries weighs and shippers absorb the absence of government incentives that supported previous sales. Lower shipments from India will help rivals such as Vietnam and Myanmar in raising their exports, according to Indian exporters, but could also force Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to increase buying from farmers, even as it struggles to liquidate last year's stocks.

Jul 29 - Argentina wheat farmers eye record harvest as bad crop weather hits rivals
Argentine wheat farmers are preparing for a record harvest, even as global rivals see crop yield prospects cut amid floods in the United States, searing heat in Europe and drought in Australia. The grain bounty in the world's No. 6 wheat exporter will boost the South American country in global markets, while wheat incomes that will start to flow at the turn of the year will boost whoever wins presidential elections in October.

Jul 29 - Grains group Soufflet sees French wheat crop at 38-39 mln tonnes 
France should harvest between 38 and 39 million tonnes of soft wheat this summer with quality levels meeting export standards, Soufflet, one of the country's largest grain exporters, said on Friday. The wheat harvest is in full swing in France, the European Union's largest producer. Results are showing good yields despite a record-breaking heatwave that caused mainly local damage, prompting producers to raise their output estimates.

Jul 29 - Saudi Arabia to start next phase of flour mill privatisation
Saudi Arabia's state grain buyer SAGO said it will start the next phase of the sale of its flour mills on Wednesday, which will see pre-qualified bidders perform due diligence and present financial offers. The sale is one of the first privatisations the kingdom is planning as part of a wide-reaching overhaul of its economy.

Jul 29 - Algeria tenders for nominal 50,000 tonnes milling wheat
Algeria's state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Monday. The tender sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders than the nominal volume sought.

Jul 29 - Ethanol vs environment: Democratic hopefuls campaign on clashing agendas
Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren is a champion of the corn-based ethanol industry when she campaigns in rural towns dotting the U.S. Farm Belt. But in Washington, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts is among the co-sponsors of the Green New Deal, which calls for the end of all fuel-powered cars – and, thus, the end of the domestic ethanol industry.

Jul 26 - China's duck farmers cash in as disease slashes pork output 
On a 30-hectare (74-acre) plot of land in China's Shandong province poultry hub, more than half a million white-feathered ducks are busy eating, chattering and laying eggs to produce cheap meat for thousands of factory canteens. With birds already packed into around 60 open-sided buildings, farm owner Shenghe Group is expanding further, aiming to raise output by 30% this year to capture record profits as a plunge in pig numbers shrinks production of pork, China's favorite meat.

 Jul 26 - U.S. to pay farmers up to $16 billion for trade war losses, South to benefit 
The U.S. government will pay American farmers hurt by the trade war with China between $15 and $150 per acre in an aid package totaling $16 billion, officials said on Thursday, with farmers in the South poised to see higher rates than in the Midwest. The assistance, starting in mid-to-late August, follows Republican President Donald Trump's $12 billion package last year that was aimed at making up for lower farm good prices and lost sales.

Jul 26 - In Roundup case, U.S. judge cuts $2 billion verdict against Bayer to $86 million 
A California judge on Thursday reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed Bayer AG's glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup for their cancer to $86.7 million. Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith of the California Superior Court in Oakland said the jury's billion-dollar punitive damages awards were excessive and unconstitutional, but rejected Bayer's request to strike the punitive award outright.

Jul 26 - Global warming reshapes almanac for tea growers in China's Yunnan 
Que Liu and his wife Si En spend their mornings picking pu'er leaves in an ancient tea garden in a forest not far from their hillside village, one of many that dot the subtropical highlands of southwest China. Coveted by tea connoisseurs, pu'er is a variety distinguished by its earthy tones and complex taste structure, with each successive steeping releasing a unique flavour, devotees say.

Jul 26 - IGC cuts forecasts for 2019/2020 world wheat, corn crops 
The International Grains Council (IGC) cut its forecast on Thursday for world wheat production in the 2019/2020 season, reflecting diminished crop outlooks in Russia, the European Union and Canada. The inter-governmental body lowered its 2019/20 global wheat crop forecast by 6 million tonnes to 763 million tonnes. Top wheat exporter Russia was seen harvesting a crop of 75.7 million tonnes, down from a previous forecast of 79.5 million.

Jul 26 - U.S. spring wheat tour sees yields of 43.1 bushels per acre 
Scouts on an annual crop tour projected harvest yields for the 2019 U.S. hard red spring wheat crop at 43.1 bushels per acre (bpa), up from the tour's 2018 projection of 41.1 bpa but below its five-year average of 44.7. Scouts on the Wheat Quality Council's three-day tour surveyed 356 spring wheat fields in North Dakota, the top spring wheat production state, and parts of Minnesota.

Jul 26 - In New York, a diverse, new group works the soil 
Sporting a backwards gray cap, studded earrings and a thin, head-to-toe layer of dirt, Layton Guenther took a break from the day's fieldwork to talk about their path from an upper-middle-class suburb to a Long Island, New York, farm. "Farming - for where I grew up - was a very unusual career choice," said Guenther, 32, who grew up in a New York City suburb and identifies as gender non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. But "everybody belongs on the land in their own way. None of us should feel alienated from it."

Jul 26 - Brazil court orders Petrobras to refuel Iran grain vessels 
Brazil's top court on Thursday ordered state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA to refuel two Iranian grain vessels stranded on the Brazilian coast due to U.S. sanctions holding up sales of fuel needed for their return trips. Chief Justice Dias Toffoli overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Petrobras, as the oil major is known, to refrain from fueling the vessels.

Jul 26 - India to get above-average monsoon rains in next two weeks 
India is likely to get above-average rainfall in the next two weeks after receiving below average rains in the past two weeks, a weather department official said on Thursday, helping summer-sown crops that were wilting in some areas due to a dry spell. Monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55% of India's arable land relies on rainfall and agriculture forms about 15% of a $2.5 trillion economy.

Jul 24 - U.S. to pay $15 minimum per acre to farmers hurt by China trade war 
The U.S. government will pay a minimum of $15 per acre to farmers hurt by President Donald Trump's trade war with China under an aid package to be unveiled before the end of the week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday. "We'll have information for you before the week ends," Perdue told reporters when asked about the aid, which is planned to total about $16 billion.

 Jul 24 - Thai rice exporters cut 2019 target for annual exports 
Thailand's rice exporters on Wednesday lowered their target for annual exports to 9 million tonnes from 9.5 million, after a sharp fall in first-half shipments due to a strong baht and ample global stockpiles. Thailand's rice exports from January to June fell 19.6% compared with the same period last year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said.

Jul 24 - South central North Dakota wheat yields seen above average - tour 
Wheat yield potential in south central North Dakota is trending above average, with the crop benefiting from ideal weather following a wet spring that delayed planting, scouts on annual tour found on Tuesday. "This is really good wheat for out here," said Dave Green, executive vice president of the Wheat Quality Council, which runs the tour. "I think everything looks good for being so late."

Jul 24 - White House's Kudlow hopeful on U.S.-China trade talks, agriculture buys 
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Tuesday called it a good sign that top U.S. officials would be traveling to China to discuss reviving stalled trade talks, and said he expected Beijing to start buying U.S. agriculture products soon. In recent phone calls with Chinese negotiators, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had emphasized the need for Beijing to make good on its pledge to buy more U.S. agricultural products.

Jul 24 - Asian buyers snap up spring wheat on competitive prices-traders 
Asian flour millers have been actively buying U.S. and Canadian spring wheat since last week as competitive prices drive demand for the grain used largely in making breads and pizza crusts. Millers from the region's top importer Indonesia, and other countries such as Japan, the Philippines and Thailand, have signed contracts to import about 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes since last week, two Singapore-based trade sources said.

Jul 24 - Egypt's GASC buys 300,000 tonnes of wheat in tender 
Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), has bought 300,000 tonnes of wheat at an international purchase tender, it said on Tuesday. Of the total, GASC bought 120,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat, 120,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat and 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat for shipment Aug. 25 - Sept. 5, it said.

Jul 24 - Ukraine's 2019 rapeseed harvest at 2.73 mln T so far - ministry 
Ukraine, one of Europe's leading exporters of rapeseed, had harvested around 2.73 million tonnes of the oilseed crop as of July 23, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said farmers had harvested 1.12 million hectares of winter rapeseed with a yield of 2.43 tonnes per hectare.

Jul 23 - U.S. farmers look past trade fears to cash in on China's hog crisis 
It might seem an unlikely time for U.S. farmers to look to China for more business but the devastating impact of African swine fever on the Chinese pork industry is trumping concerns about trade wars and tariffs. Experts estimate the disease will wipe out about a third of China's pork production this year, or 18 million tonnes. That's twice the amount of pork exported worldwide every year and enough to feed U.S. consumers for almost two years.

 Jul 23 - China June pork imports surge 62.8% from a year earlier 
China's pork imports in June surged from the previous year, customs data showed on Tuesday, as the world's top consumer of the meat stocked up on supplies after African swine fever has decimated domestic pig herds. China brought in 160,467 tonnes of pork in June, up 62.8% from the same month last year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. This was down 14% from 187,459 tonnes imported in May. 

 Jul 23 - The pits: How China's U.S. tariff jab choked a cherry import boom 
For public relations officer Rachel Li, paying top dollar for "beautiful" cherries imported from the United States was a no-brainer. "I heard they are full of iron," said the Guangzhou-based 33-year-old, "eating them makes me feel healthy, luxurious." Or it did, until Beijing imposed sky-high tariffs on U.S. cherries and importers took fright, leaving store shelves bereft and consumers like Li needing a different fruit fix.

  Jul 23 - Egypt's GASC seeks wheat for Aug. 25-Sept 5 shipment
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Monday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5. GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said the authority was seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Paraguay and Serbia.

Jul 23 - Crop Watch: Corn, soy health steady ahead of milder weather spell - Braun 
Conditions in the Crop Watch corn and soybean fields remained stable last week, even with a mini heat wave in the latter half. Delayed progress caused producers to become slightly more hesitant on yield potential, but the upcoming week of milder temperatures appears to be exactly what the crops need. Crop Watch 2019 follows one corn and one soybean field in eight major U.S. Corn Belt states, reporting on weekly progress as of Sunday. These are the same eight growers who participated in the 2018 version of Crop Watch.

Jul 23 - EU crop monitor cuts 2019 soft wheat yield forecast 
The European Union's crop monitoring service, MARS, on Monday cut its forecast of the EU soft wheat yield this year to 6.04 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) from 6.10 t/ha last month. That would still be 7.3% above last year's level and 1.6% higher than the average of the past five years, MARS said in a monthly report. For other cereals, it cut its forecast of EU 2019 all-barley yield to 4.91 t/a from 4.92 

Jul 23 - Thai farmers asked to delay rice planting as drought bites 
The Thai government has asked farmers to delay planting rice because of drought and the pumping of water from reservoirs for irrigation threatens household supplies, an agriculture ministry official said on Monday. Farmers in the world's second-biggest rice exporter usually plant their main crop in May, the beginning of the rainy season, for harvest between August and October.

Jul 22 - Chinese companies looking to buy U.S. farm products - Xinhua
Some Chinese companies are seeking new purchases of U.S. agricultural products, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday, citing authorities, as Beijing and Washington look for ways to end a protracted trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at last month's G20 summit in Osaka to restart trade talks that stalled in May.

 Jul 22 - French grain alliance set for battle with Black Sea wheat
A French export alliance of grain cooperatives to take on the challenge of Black Sea supplies may not be enough to stop the EU's top exporter losing the vital Algerian market to Russian wheat, traders and analysts said. The unveiling this month of Grains Overseas, an unprecedented alliance in which InVivo, Axereal and NatUp will combine soft wheat and feed barley exports outside the European Union, is a response to booming Russian and Ukrainian shipments. 

 Jul 22 - Better U.S. weather challenges funds' bullish corn views - Braun
Speculators were thought to have established their most bullish Chicago corn stance in more than three years earlier this month, but then the weather outlooks quickly and unexpectedly improved for the U.S. crop. Selling early last week offset the prior buying, and the bearish mood continued through most of the week.

Jul 22 - Ukraine's July 13-19 sea port grain exports jump on week - APK-Inform
Ukrainian grain exports from sea ports in the week of July 13-19 jumped to 819,000 tonnes from 499,000 tonnes a week earlier, preliminary data from APK-Inform consultancy showed on Sunday. Corn exports rose to 356,000 tonnes from 187,000 tonnes the previous week, while wheat shipments increased to 285,000 tonnes from 221,000 tonnes, the consultancy said.

Jul 22 - Brazil soybeans lose protein, China sales at risk
The protein content in Brazilian soybeans fell for the first time in four harvests in 2018, according to preliminary government data, a development that has already cost Brazilian companies business with top buyer China. Declining protein levels in Brazil, the world's top soybean supplier, spell trouble for exporters who are faced with the prospect of cancellations, selling beans at a discount or stricter contracts requiring quality assurances with buyers who want to guarantee a nutrient-rich purchase.

Jul 22 - India's edible oil imports could jump to record as scanty rains trim output - analyst
India's edible oil imports are likely to rise 7.3% in 2019/20 to a record high as scanty monsoon rains are expected to curtail yields of summer-sown oilseeds such as soybeans and groundnut, a senior industry official said. Higher purchases by the world's biggest edible oil importer could support palm oil prices that are under pressure due to sluggish demand amid an expected rise in production.

Jul 22 - African swine fever hits pig farm in northeast Bulgaria
Bulgaria reported on Saturday an outbreak of African swine fever at a breeding farm for pigs near the Danube city of Ruse in the north east of the Balkan country. "All pigs on the holding, or 17,000, will be culled," a spokeswoman for the national food safety authority told Reuters.

Jul 22 - EU heading for large wheat crop despite early summer heatwave
The European Union is set for a larger wheat harvest this summer as a heatwave in late June which wilted some crops had a less severe impact than initially feared, traders and industry officials said on Friday. "The heatwave caused a late crop loss of a couple of million tonnes but overall we are still facing a big crop and big export supplies in the leading producers France, Germany, Britain and Poland," one German trader said.

Jul 22 - Two more Iranian ships may be stranded in Brazil as sanctions bite
Two more Iranian bulk carriers that came to Brazil carrying urea and were expected to return home with corn could be left without enough fuel, as Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras refuses to provide them with bunker fuel due to U.S. sanctions. Ship tracking data shows that Panamax-type vessels MV Delruba and Ganj, currently located near the Imbituba port in southern Brazil, were scheduled to run the same route as two other Iranian vessels, Bavand and Termeh, whose refueling problems Reuters reported on Thursday. 

Jul 19 - China makes biggest U.S. sorghum purchase since April as trade talks resume
China made its biggest purchase of U.S. sorghum since April last week, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data issued on Thursday, as Washington and Beijing revive discussions to end their trade war. The world's top sorghum importer bought 51,072 metric tons of the grain even though China imposed a 25% tariff on American shipments in July 2018 as part of the tit-for-tat trade dispute. The purchases will likely be used to feed livestock or make a fiery Chinese liquor called baijiu.

 Jul 19 - Iran grain ships stuck in Brazil without fuel due to U.S. sanctions
Two Iranian vessels have been stranded for weeks at Brazilian ports, unable to head back to Iran due to lack of fuel, which state-run oil firm Petrobras refuses to sell them due to sanctions imposed by the United States. The vessels Bavand and Termeh came to Brazil a couple months ago carrying urea, a petrochemical product used as fertilizer. They were expected to load corn and return to Iran, but lacked enough fuel for the trip, the port operator in Paranaguá told Reuters.

 Jul 19 - U.S. ethanol plants expected to cut output on poor margins, oversupply
U.S. ethanol plants are expected to sharply curtail production in the weeks ahead as steep Midwest corn prices and the U.S.-China trade war have led to weak margins and oversupply, industry sources said. Margins to produce ethanol in the Corn Belt where most U.S. production takes place - have fallen to a four-year seasonal low, while ethanol inventories are at the highest seasonally since at least 2010. Production hit its highest seasonal level since 2010, the earliest data available.

Jul 19 - China bolstering Brazil's BRF turnaround effort - CEO
Brazil's BRF SA expects to soon receive as many as four new export permits to sell chicken and pork to China, which could help the Brazilian food processor reverse three consecutive annual losses. BRF lost a combined 5.9 billion reais ($1.58 billion) through 2018. A Chinese delegation is visiting several Brazilian meat plants this week and next, BRF Chief Executive Officer Lorival Luz told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

Jul 19 - Dreyfus names Gelchie as head of coffee - sources
Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has appointed Michael Gelchie as head of its coffee business, trade sources said on Thursday. Gelchie will rejoin the company, where he previously worked for 20 years from 1990, on July 29 and will be based in Wilton, Connecticut in the United States, the sources said.

Jul 19 - Democrats slam USDA's relocation of economists as blow to scientific research
Democratic senators on Thursday slammed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to relocate hundreds of its economists and other researchers from Washington to the Midwest, saying it will hurt the agency's research capabilities by prompting many to resign. The plan, unveiled last year, would move 547 workers for the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) divisions to Kansas City by September. Those services provide data used to make policy decisions, and support research on a wide range of issues affecting agriculture.

Jul 19 - Swiss raise a glass to winegrowers in rare vintage festival
Switzerland uncorked a once-in-a-generation celebration of its winemakers on Thursday, with fancy dress, alpine horns, cows and dancers kicking off a festival that dates back to the 18th century. The three-week "Fete des Vignerons" began in 1797, but its roots go back a century further when winemakers used to shame the country's worst vineyard worker each year by crowning them in front of the church at Vevey, in the heart of the wine-producing canton of Vaud.

Jul 18 - Small U.S. refiners vow to sue EPA if it fails to issue 2018 waiver rulings in 60 days
Small U.S. refineries plan to sue Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 60 days, if the agency by then fails to issue its decisions on 2018 petitions for waivers from the nation's biofuel laws, refiners said in a letter on Wednesday. The waiver program, which exempts small refiners in financial turmoil from their obligation to blend ethanol into gasoline, have been a source of contention between the rivaling corn and oil industries since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a review of it after hearing complaints from farmers.

 Jul 18 - Prevented acres do not guarantee a certain cut to U.S. crop plantings - Braun
The excessively wet weather in the United States this spring may have constructed a historically large barrier to corn and soybean plantings, but the actual acres sown could be higher than prevented planting claims might suggest. Prevented planting (PP) coverage protects U.S. farmers if they are unable to plant an insured crop by a predetermined date. According to the U.S. government’s Risk Management Agency, PP payments compensate producers for the costs generally incurred in preparation for planting if adverse weather is prohibitive.

 Jul 18 - Latest hot spell set to deepen drought pain in France
Hot weather in France next week is expected to prolong drought conditions that have impacted several sectors including nuclear power generation and farming, and led to restrictions on water use in 61 administrative regions. French meteorological services expect very hot and dry weather next week, with a slight risk of a heatwave in the southeastern part of the country. This comes after a hot spell set record temperatures at the end of June. 

Jul 18 - Bulgaria steps up measures to prevent spread of African swine fever
Bulgaria has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of deadly African swine fever and protect the country's 600-million lev ($344 million) pig-breeding industry, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday. The highly contagious disease, which is incurable in pigs but harmless to humans, has spread rapidly across the northern part of the European Union member.

Jul 18 - Ukraine's 2019 rapeseed harvest at 2.2 mln T so far - ministry
Ukraine, one of Europe's leading exporters of rapeseed, had harvested 2.2 million tonnes of the oilseed crop as of July 17, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry said farmers had harvested 952,000 hectares of winter rapeseed with a yield of 2.33 tonnes per hectare.

Jul 17 - Russia eyes 2035 grain crop boom with $70 bln investment plan
The Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday it saw Russia's grain crop rising as high as 150.3 million tonnes by 2035 in an "optimistic scenario" as it outlined a draft strategy to invest billions of dollars in grain infrastructure and logistics. The 2035 strategy, which has been sent to the government for discussion, would cost more than 4.4 trillion roubles ($70 billion) in funds drawn from private investors, loans and government financing, the ministry said in a statement.

Jul 17 - is the high already in for CBOT December corn futures? - Braun
Chicago corn futures have traded at multiyear highs since late May on a record late-planted U.S. crop. Speculators have built a sizable net long position and farmers remain hopeful of even higher prices. But what if corn futures have already hit their highs? This is uncertain as there is still a long way to go for the U.S. crop and a lot of pieces that need to fall in place for it to be even somewhat successful. However, market-watchers must not forget just how globalized the corn market has become in recent years, and this could prevent higher prices, or at least sustained higher prices.

Jul 17 - Egypt's GASC seeks wheat for Aug. 21-31 shipment
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Tuesday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Aug. 21 to 31. GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said the authority was seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Paraguay and Serbia.

Jul 17 - EU facing large rapeseed imports as small crop looms - Oil World
European Union rapeseed imports are likely to rise sharply in the coming months as indications intensify that Europe’s rapeseed crop this summer will be small, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday. "The looming severe decline in EU rapeseed production is likely to boost rapeseed and canola imports to a new high of close to 5.6 million tonnes in July 2019/June 2020," Oil World said. Imports for 2018/19 are estimated at 4.3 million tonnes.

Jul 17 - Argentina ranchers kill the fatted cow amid cash crunch, turn to China
Argentina's world-famous ranchers are culling their breeding cows at the highest rate in 30 years and tapping Chinese demand for meat in order to help pay their bills as access to credit has dried up for farmers in South American's No. 2 economy. The trend underscores how Argentina's tight monetary policy and sky-high interest rates hovering around 60% are squeezing the sector, which relies on up-front investment to maintain valuable cow herds and rearing calves over several years to maturity.

Jul 17 - Ethanol to be central issue in India-Brazil meeting - industry group
Brazil and India are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on production and trade of ethanol when leaders of the two countries meet in Brasilia later this year, an industry group said on Tuesday. According to UDOP, a Brazilian association of sugar and ethanol producers, the suggestion to discuss a partnership on ethanol came from the Indian government, which has a target to gradually increase blending of ethanol to gasoline to up to 20%.

Jul 16 - Changing habits: China's pig farms clean up to beat swine fever  

A devastating outbreak of African swine fever that has killed millions of pigs in China is changing attitudes in a country where farm hygiene has often been seen as lax by international standards. From farms to feed mills to transport, people involved in the pork industry say biosecurity has been tightened, with sales of disinfectants and truck cleaning washes booming as farmers try to fend off the virus.

 Jul 16 - U.S. judge slashes Roundup jury award to $25.3 mln; Bayer still plans to appeal
A federal judge on Monday slashed a damages award Bayer AG owed a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for his cancer, to $25.27 million from $80.27 million, while rejecting the company's bid for a new trial. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said evidence against the former Monsanto Co, which Bayer bought last year, supported the $5.27 million in compensatory damages that a jury awarded Edwin Hardeman. He also said the jury acted reasonably in awarding punitive damages.

 Jul 16 - NOPA June soy crush drops to 21-month low of 148.843 million bushels
The U.S. soybean crush dropped by more than expected in June to the lowest level in 21 months, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released on Monday. NOPA members, which handle about 95 percent of all soybeans crushed in the United States, processed 148.843 million bushels of soybeans in June, down from 154.796 million bushels in May and 159.228 million bushels crushed in June 2018.

Jul 16 - Crop Watch: Rain needed as corn begins pollination in the heat - Braun
Hot temperatures will grip the U.S. Corn Belt this week, and up to five of the eight Crop Watch corn fields may be pollinating during this time, but expected showers in the eastern areas could help minimize some of the negative effects of the warmth. Later-planted soybeans continue to grow very slowly after starting in such wet conditions, but now all but one producer would like rain on both their corn and soybean fields.

Jul 16 - Algeria suspends grain agency head in corruption probe - govt sources
Algeria's government has suspended the head of grains agency OAIC over corruption allegations, sources close to the prime minister's office said, creating uncertainty for traders who supply one of the world's biggest cereal importers. The decision to suspend Mohamed Belabdi pending the completion of investigations was taken at a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, the sources told Reuters on Monday.

Jul 16 - Romanian union says strike averted at ADM Constanta grain silos
The union representing workers at ADM's North Star Shipping grain silos in Romania's Black sea port of Constanta said on Monday an indefinite strike scheduled to start on July 15 had been averted after reaching an deal on wages. An indefinite strike at the Constanta port silos could have severely impacted grain supplies to Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, and where ADM is an active exporter.

Jul 16 - Most big companies fail to report role in deforestation, charity says
Most big companies are failing to report the damage their operations are doing to forests despite committing to lighten their footprint under wider efforts to tackle climate change, according to a report published on Tuesday. CDP, a charity which says it works with institutional investors with assets of $96 trillion, said 70% of 1,500 large companies failed to provide data on their impact on forests in response to its queries last year.

Jul 16 - Malaysia keeps August crude palm oil export duty at zero percent
Malaysia kept its export duty on crude palm oil for August unchanged at zero percent, according to a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's website on Tuesday, citing the national customs department. The duty has been at zero percent since September.

Jul 15 - China's first-half pork output falls amid disease outbreak
China's pork output fell by less than expected in the first half as the country tackles a devastating disease outbreak, although official data showed conflicting figures on the size of the decline in the hog herd. China produced 24.7 million tonnes of pork in the first six months of 2019, down 5.5% from a year earlier, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, amid a severe epidemic of African swine fever.

 Jul 15 - Cargill shuts animal-feed mills in China as fatal hog disease spreads
Cargill Inc shuttered animal-feed mills in China in recent months partly because the rapid spread of a fatal hog disease has reduced demand, a company executive said on Friday. The closures highlight the pain for global agriculture companies from the outbreak of African swine fever in China, the world's top hog producer and pork consumer.

 Jul 15 - NOPA June U.S. soy crush seen at 154.405 mln bushels - survey
U.S. soybean crushings likely declined for a third straight month in June to a 16-month low, according to analysts polled ahead of a monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report. NOPA members, which together handle about 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, likely crushed 154.405 million bushels of soybeans last month, according to the average of estimates from seven analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Jul 15 - BRF, Marfrig shares mixed after Brazil meat merger talks called off
Shares in Brazilian meat-packers BRF SA and Marfrig Global Foods opened higher on Friday after the companies called off talks on a potential merger but later trimmed gains. BRF's shares rose by almost 4% in early trading in Sao Paulo but later went negative as investors digested the news. Marfrig’s shares rose 2.2% at one point in the session but later paired gains to 0.7%.

Jul 15 - Irish PM defends EU-Mercosur trade deal from beef backlash
Ireland must be careful not to bow to beef farmers' wishes to thwart an EU-Mercosur free trade deal only to prejudice access to more important markets, the prime minister warned on Friday. Ireland's parliament wants Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's government to lead opposition inside the European Union to the draft deal Brussels struck two weeks ago with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries. 

Jul 15 - India's summer crop planting down nearly 9% - government
Indian farmers have planted 41.3 million hectares with summer crops, down 8.6% year on year, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare said on Friday, though the gap in sowing narrowed from the previous week as monsoon rains picked up. Farmers start planting their summer-sown crops from June 1 when monsoon rains are expected to reach India, where nearly half of farmlands lack irrigation. Planting usually continues until the end of July.

Jul 12 - French grain cooperatives forge export alliance to revive fortunes
Three of France's largest agricultural groups have formed a grain export joint venture in an attempt to improve their competitiveness in overseas markets increasingly dominated by Black Sea producers like Russia and Ukraine. Cooperative groups InVivo, Axereal and NatUp have established the Grains Overseas unit with the aim of shipping 4 million tonnes of soft wheat and feed barley per year outside the European Union, they said in a statement on Thursday.

Jul 12 - U.S. corn crop seen bigger, soybean crop lower ahead of acreage resurvey - USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) increased its forecast of U.S. corn production and lowered its soybean harvest view by more than expected on Thursday, factoring in results from its widely questioned June acreage report. Traders mostly shrugged off the updated U.S. harvest forecasts as the USDA has said that it will resurvey acreage in the coming weeks to fully account for the severe planting delays across the U.S. Midwest.

 Jul 12 - Cargill quarterly profit dives 41% on trade tensions, U.S. floods
Global commodities trader Cargill Inc reported a 41% drop in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing supply disruptions stemming from the U.S.-China trade war and also flooding in the central United States that hit marketing and transportation of grains and livestock. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said adjusted operating profit fell to $476 million in the fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, from $809 million a year earlier, as three of its four business units posted lower year-on-year results. 

 Jul 12 - Brazil meatpackers BRF, Marfrig call off talks on proposed tie-up
Brazilian meatpackers BRF SA and Marfrig Global Foods SA said on Thursday that they had mutually agreed to call off negotiations for a possible merger that were going on for a month. The two companies said in securities filings they had ended the talks because they could not agree on the governance structure of the potentially merged company.

 Jul 12 - ADM, Cargill reach deal to swap U.S. Midwest grain elevators
Large U.S. grain merchants Cargill Inc and Archer Daniels Midland Co have reached a deal to swap some of their grain elevators in the U.S. Midwest in a deal expected to close later this summer, both companies said on Thursday. The deal includes a sale by Cargill of its Mount Vernon and Evansville, Indiana, elevators on the Ohio River to ADM. In return, ADM will sell its Beardstown, Naples and Keithsburg, Illinois, elevators along the Illinois River to Cargill, representatives from both companies said.

 Jul 12 - Wall Street banks bailing on troubled U.S. farm sector
In the wake of the U.S. housing meltdown of the late 2000s, JPMorgan Chase & Co hunted for new ways to expand its loan business beyond the troubled mortgage sector. The nation's largest bank found enticing new opportunities in the rural Midwest - lending to U.S. farmers who had plenty of income and collateral as prices for grain and farmland surged.

Jul 12 - Heatwave prompts cut in Strategie Grains EU wheat crop forecast 
Strategie Grains cut its monthly forecast for this year's European Union soft wheat harvest by more than 2 million tonnes as it factored in a late-June heatwave in western Europe. Analysts at the consultancy pegged 2019 EU soft wheat production at 140.6 million tonnes, down from 142.8 million projected last month but 11% above a drought-hit 2018 volume.

Jul 12 - Trump says "China is letting us down" on buying from U.S. farmers
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China was not living up to promises it made on buying agricultural products from American farmers as the world's two largest economies work to resolve a trade dispute. "Mexico is doing great at the Border, but China is letting us down in that they have not been buying the agricultural products from our great Farmers that they said they would. Hopefully they will start soon!" Trump said on Twitter.

Jul 12 - Cool, dry weather in Argentina supports wheat-planting plans - grain exchange
Cold and mostly dry conditions over the past week in Argentina have bolstered wheat planting for the 2019/20 season, helping get rid of excess moisture that had delayed sowing in some areas, the Buenos Aires grain exchange said on Thursday. Argentina, a major global wheat exporter, is aiming to plant 6.6 million hectares (16.3 million acres) of the grain, up from 6.2 million hectares (15.3 million acres) the previous season when the country harvested a record 19 million tons of the crop.

Jul 12 - Brazil cotton farmers sue Bayer over patent on GMO seed
Brazilian cotton producers in the state of Mato Grosso on Thursday sued Bayer AG, seeking to cancel the chemical company's patent protection for its Bollgard II RR Flex genetically modified cotton seed, according to a statement sent to Reuters. The farmers, hoping to regain $151 million in royalty payments, claim the genetically modified seed does not constitute a de facto technological innovation, according to the statement issued by the Mato Grosso Cotton Producers Association (AMPA). The lawsuit also names Brazil's national patents office as a defendant.

Jul 11 - Major grain traders face one-two punch from U.S. floods, trade war
Severe U.S. weather likely dented earnings for large grain companies including Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd for a second straight quarter, adding to headwinds from a still-unresolved U.S.-China trade war, analysts and economists said. ADM and Bunge, as well as peers Cargill Inc and Louis Dreyfus Co, known as the ABCD quartet of global grain trading giants, faced processing-plant downtime, rail and barge shipping delays and other supply uncertainty this spring as historic floods ravaged the central United States. 

 Jul 11 - Trump intervention delaying EPA biofuel waiver action, sources say
U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for a review of the administration’s expanded use of biofuel waivers for oil refiners is holding up its decisions on 2018 applications, according to three sources familiar with the matter, two of whom said Trump may soon host a meeting on the issue. Trump had ordered members of his Cabinet to review the controversial waiver program, which exempts small refiners in financial turmoil from their obligation to blend ethanol into gasoline, last month after hearing from farmers angry about the issue during his recent Midwest tour.

 Jul 11 - Australia wheat crop faces hot, dry weather for next three months
Hot, dry weather will persist across Australia's east coast until at least October, the country's weather bureau said on Thursday, signalling no relief for drought-hit farmers in one of the world's largest agricultural producers. There is just a 30% chance that Australia's east coast will receive average rainfalls between Aug. 1 and Oct. 30, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its latest climate outlook.

Jul 11 - China warns meat exporters to comply with rules - sources
China's customs administration warned meat exporting nations this week to comply with its rules on imports, following a series of problems it identified in Canadian pork shipments. Representatives from around 30 countries attended a meeting on Monday afternoon in Beijing hosted by Bi Kexin, Director General of the Import and Export Food Safety Bureau under China's General Administration of Customs, said two diplomats who attended, and another who was briefed on the matter.

Jul 11 - French wheat harvest protein rising after weak start - Soufflet
Protein readings in the early stages of this year's wheat harvest in France were improving after initial samples on the west coast showed levels below export requirements, grain group Soufflet said on Wednesday. France, the European Union's largest wheat producer, is widely expected gather a larger crop this year but grain quality, as measured by criteria including protein content, is also crucial to secure sales to foreign milling customers. 

Jul 11 - Brazil frost damage in focus as global coffee forum kicks off
Brazilian coffee farmers expect damage to their crops due to frosts in recent days, but investors are nevertheless keeping their expectations for record production in 2020, generating debate at the 2nd Global Coffee Producers Forum on Wednesday. Brazilian producers and cooperatives say that damage to next year's crop is very likely, although they were still assessing how intense and extensive the frosts were. Market participants see only minor risk of problems.

Jul 11 - U.S. Midwest floods to weigh on diesel demand in fall harvest season
A disappointing planting season due to massive flooding in the U.S. Midwest this spring is expected to have spillover effects on diesel demand during harvest season, analysts and traders said. Heavy storms that lingered over the Midwest left millions of acres unseeded and put crops that were planted late at a greater risk for damage from severe weather during the growing season, which is expected to reduce overall harvested acres in the fall.

Jul 11 - India receives above normal rains this week, spurring crop planting
India's monsoon rains in the week ending on Wednesday were above average for the first time since the start of the season on June 1, helping farmers to accelerate the planting of summer-sown crops and easing concerns of drought. Monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth, as about 55% of India's arable land is rain-fed, and agriculture forms about 15% of a $2.5-trillion economy that is the third biggest in Asia.

Jul 10 - Russia's 2019 grain crop may rise by 2-5% y/y - weather forecaster
Russia's 2019 grain crop may be 2-5% bigger than last year's, Roman Vilfand, head of research at Russian weather forecaster Hydrometcentre, said on Tuesday. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, has started harvesting its crop earlier than usual this year due to a June heatwave, which caused the downgrade of a number of crop forecasts in recent weeks. 

 Jul 10 - Setting realistic expectations for upcoming USDA numbers - Braun
Faulty U.S. planting expectations caused shock among market participants when the government published its acreage survey two weeks ago, and with a fresh set of numbers on deck for Thursday, it may be helpful to compare the predictions with historical outcomes to minimize the chances for more surprises. The U.S. Department of Agriculture World Board will publish its monthly world supply and demand report (WASDE) on Thursday at noon EDT (1600 GMT). Although changes to U.S. corn and soybean production usually do not come until August, this year’s extreme weather has caused everyone to scrutinize these numbers earlier and more closely than usual.

 Jul 10 - U.S. refiners urge EPA to keep biofuel waiver requests secret from USDA
A law firm representing small U.S. refineries has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to keep refiners' applications for waivers from the nation's biofuel policy secret from the Department of Agriculture, arguing that the petitions include confidential business information. The request, made by Perkins Coie in a letter to the EPA dated July 8, adds to mounting pressure from representatives of the refining industry for the Trump administration to box the USDA out of the controversial waiver program.

Jul 10 - Egypt's GASC buys 240,000 tonnes of Romanian, Ukrainian wheat
Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) said on Tuesday it had bought 240,000 tonnes of Romanian and Ukrainian wheat. Of the total, GASC bought 60,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat and 180,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat.

Jul 10 - Dry freight rates to ride high on ship fuel refits - Cargill
With the world's largest dry cargo ships coming out of service for refits to comply with tougher rules on emissions, charter rates are expected to remain strong, a top Cargill executive said, after posting 7-fold gains already this year. "There are a lot of ships - especially on the capesizes - that will go into scrubber fitting which basically means they will be out of service for at least 25 days each to do so," Jan Dieleman, president of trading firm Cargill's ocean transportation business, told Reuters. "If you add it all up, in a very short period of time you take actually quite some supply out of the market."

Jul 10 - India lowers duty on 400,000 T of corn imports as prices jump
India lowered import taxes on an additional 400,000 tonnes of corn to 15%, the government said on Tuesday, to offset a rise in the price of animal feed in the country following a drought last year. India allowed imports of 100,000 tonnes of corn at the concessional tax rate in June. 

Jul 10 - France sees wheat crop rising to 37 mln T, rapeseed at 16-year low
France is on course to harvest 37.0 million tonnes of soft wheat this year, 8.5% more than in 2018, the country's farm ministry said on Tuesday, supporting market expectations of a bigger crop in the European Union's top wheat grower. The initial production estimate for the soft wheat crop was also 3.6% above the average of the past five years, the ministry said in a crop report.

Jul 10 - Cargill confirms to change German starch plant to wheat use
U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill confirmed on Tuesday it will develop its starches and sweeteners factory in Krefeld in Germany, changing the plant to wheat raw material from corn in a $200 million investment project. The project had been announced in January 2018. No figures on plant production capacity or tonnage of wheat involved were given.

Jul 10 - Bulgaria reports six new outbreaks of African swine fever
Bulgaria has reported new outbreaks of African swine fever among backyard pigs in six villages in the northern region of Pleven, the national food safety agency said on Tuesday. All pigs in the six villages were outbreaks were confirmed will be culled and a three-kilometre quarantine zone will be established around the village, the agency said in a statement.

Jul 09 - Funds dismiss large U.S. corn plantings and stick with bullish views - Braun
Speculators hardly changed their attitude toward Chicago-traded grains and oilseeds following a very bearish government report, even though market participants expected the numbers to have triggered heavy selling, especially in corn. The Department of Agriculture's acreage survey published on June 28 showed U.S. corn plantings at 91.7 million acres, more than 5 million above the average trade guess and well over the top of the range of guesses. CBOT corn futures plunged the daily limit as a result, after reaching five-year highs earlier in the month.

 Jul 09 - Russian analysts cut 2019 wheat crop forecasts again
SovEcon and IKAR, the leading agriculture consultancies in Moscow, on Monday downgraded their forecast for Russia's 2019 wheat crop as they continued to assess the negative impact of June's hot, dry weather. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, has downgraded a number of crop forecasts in recent weeks because of a June heatwave. 

 Jul 09 - Juror urges U.S. judge to uphold $80 mln Roundup verdict against Bayer
A juror who was part of a panel that delivered an $80 million award against Bayer AG after finding that its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused a man's cancer has urged the presiding judge to uphold the decision. A letter from the juror written on July 4 was posted to the court docket on Monday as part of legal filings by Bayer. The company accused the juror of bias and called on the judge to disregard the letter in his decision making.

Jul 09 - Black Sea wheat exports seen rising 4% in 2019/20 - poll
Wheat exports from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan will rise 4% in the 2019/20 marketing season, a Reuters poll showed, as June's heatwave failed to offset favourable weather in the winter, signalling tough competition with the European Union. The bulk of wheat from the bloc is exported via the Black Sea to customers in Africa and the Middle East, also important buyers for the European Union, whose crop is also expected to rebound this year. 

Jul 09 - China finds armyworm pest in corn crops in Gansu province
China has found the destructive fall armyworm in corn crops in the northwestern province of Gansu, the local government said on Monday, further stoking fears about damage to the country's grain output. The pest, which was found in crops near Longnan city in southern Gansu, has now spread to 20 provinces and regions in China since it was first reported in the southwestern province Yunnan in early January. 

Jul 09 - German diplomat tells US, EU: don't use agriculture to block trade deal
The United States and European Union should use common sense to move forward with formal negotiations about a trade agreement, instead of allowing disagreements over agriculture to block progress, a senior German diplomat told Reuters. Peter Beyer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the German government's transatlantic coordinator, said both sides should back away from their rigid positions.

Jul 09 - BASF slashes 2019 outlook, blames U.S.-China trade war
German chemicals giant BASF on Monday warned profit would fall well below forecasts for the second quarter and full year, blaming a global economic slowdown and trade war between the United States and China. The maker of petrochemicals, coatings, catalytic converters and foams warned full-year earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excluding special items would fall up to 30% below 2018 levels, instead of showing modest growth.

Jul 08 - Agritel forecasts Ukraine wheat crop to reach 28.8 mln T on record yield
Ukrainian wheat production could jump by 16.9% to 28.8 million tonnes this year, with favourable growing weather expected to result in record yields, French crop consultancy Agritel said. Agritel's forecast, which followed a June 17-21 field tour in Ukraine, would also be almost 12% above the average production level of the past five years, it said on Friday.

 Jul 08 - Egypt's strategic rice reserves sufficient until Oct. 15 - state news agency
Egypt's strategic reserves of rice can cover the country's needs until Oct. 15 and the price of rice will be reduced, state news agency MENA said on Sunday, citing Supply Minister Ali Moselhy. Last month, Moselhy said the rice reserves were sufficient to meet the country's needs until December. It was not immediately clear why that had changed and no details were immediately available about when the price of rice would be reduced and by how much.

 Jul 08 - U.S. EPA proposes hike in 2020 biofuel mandate but waiver volumes draw ire
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday proposed refiners increase the volume of biofuels blended into their annual fuel output but did not reallocate the waived amounts under the hardship program, drawing ire from powerful corn and biofuel groups as well as Republican senators. The EPA is charged with setting biofuel blending requirements for the refining industry as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a more than decade-old regulation that is aimed at helping farmers and reducing U.S. dependence on oil. It also provides waivers to small refining facilities that can prove compliance would cause them financial harm.

Jul 08 - French cereal crop conditions hit by heatwave as harvest starts
The condition of French cereal crops declined sharply last week, farming agency FranceAgriMer said on Friday, suggesting a negative impact from a record-breaking heatwave in the European Union's biggest grain producer. Grain markets have been assessing the effects of scorching temperatures in western Europe, which included a record high of 45.9 degrees Celsius (114.6°F) in France. 

Jul 08 - U.S. soy exports could top forecasts, but corn outlook doubtful - Braun
With just eight weeks left in the current marketing year, U.S. soybean exports could be on pace to top government forecasts, but corn may have a tougher time meeting the expectations. Data published on Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that May corn reached 4.7 million tonnes, the smallest for that month in six years. 

Jul 08 - Cambodia's EU rice exports fall sharply after tariffs; China sales up
Cambodia's rice exports to the European Union fell sharply in the first half of the year following the imposition of tariffs, official data showed on Monday, but the loss was offset by increased sales to China. The EU in January imposed tariffs for three years on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar, aiming to protect EU producers such as Italy following a surge in imports from the two Asian countries. 

Jul 05 - EU-Mercosur deal boosts Brazil meatpackers' hopes for EU meat mission
An historic trade deal between the European Union and South American trade bloc Mercosur last week is lifting expectations for Europe's next mission to evaluate Brazilian chicken plants, an industry group said on Thursday. Ricardo Santin, vice president of Brazil chicken and pork association ABPA, said in a telephone interview that the EU mission, tentatively scheduled for November, is part of a regular schedule of facility inspections.

 Jul 05 - New Zealand's Fonterra says performance needs to improve after shares tumble
New Zealand's Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, on Friday said there were no new operational developments that could have triggered a drop in its shares to record lows this week, but that its "performance is not where it needs to be". The comments come as the dairy producer deals with drought conditions which have crimped output. It cut its annual earnings forecast in May and said it was reviewing two Chinese farm hubs and exploring a stake sale at its Brazilian joint venture. 

 Jul 05 - Malaysia June palm stocks seen dropping to nearly 1-yr low - Reuters survey
Palm oil inventories in Malaysia likely dropped to their lowest in nearly a year in June as exports and domestic consumption outpaced production, a Reuters survey showed. Stockpiles in Malaysia, the world's No.2 producer of the edible oil, are forecast to have fallen to 2.35 million tonnes by the end of June, down 4% from May, according to a median estimate of seven planters, traders and analysts polled by Reuters.

Jul 05 - U.S. and 15 others slam EU regulation of farm products at WTO
The United States and 15 other countries launched a broadside of criticism at the European Union on Thursday, saying its "hazard-based" approach to regulating pesticides and other "critical tools" used by farmers was damaging livelihoods worldwide. Their statement, submitted to the World Trade Organization, said the EU's approach created great uncertainty and diverged from science-based risk assessments, creating disruption that threatened to escalate significantly in coming years.

Jul 05 - Pricier grills but cheaper meat: how Trump's trade policy plays on July 4
U.S. consumers likely paid more for grills to cook their Independence Day hot dogs and burgers this year because of the U.S.-China trade war, but they will find some consolation in less costly meat for cookouts as tariffs curb U.S. exports. The tit-for-tat tariff fight between the world's two largest economies started by U.S. President Donald Trump a year ago has U.S. companies facing higher costs for metals and components, while U.S. agricultural exports to China have fallen off.

Jul 04 - Canada proposes meat export solution, pushes back on China's criticism
Canada offered a plan to reassure China about the security of its meat export system, a Canadian minister said on Wednesday, as Ottawa rejected Chinese criticism of its efforts to enlist allies to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the countries. China said last week it wanted the Canadian government to stop allowing meat shipments to China after bogus export certificates were discovered, escalating a dispute that has also involved arrests in both countries of each other's citizens and a halt in Canadian canola sales to China. 

 Jul 04 - United States makes first-ever rice sale to China - trade group
A private importer in China last week bought U.S. rice for the first time ever, in the midst of a trade war between the two nations, a rice industry group said on Wednesday. The Chinese importer bought two containers, about 40 tonnes, of medium-grain rice from California-based Sun Valley Rice, said Michael Klein, a spokesman for USA Rice, a trade group that promotes the sale of the U.S. grain.

 Jul 04 - Northern Chinese province issues 'red alert' due to heat, corn crop at risk
The northern Chinese province of Hebei issued an extreme heat 'red alert' on Thursday, with temperatures set to soar beyond 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in its major cities and putting the area's corn crop at risk, the local government said. China's weather bureau on Tuesday said that climate change could cause more extreme weather events, with rainfall breaking records in some regions and as many as 40 weather stations this year already registering their hottest temperatures ever. 

Jul 04 - China says African swine fever outbreaks slowing
The number of fresh outbreaks of African swine fever in China has dropped significantly this year and pig production is gradually returning to normal, its vice agriculture minister said, amid recent reports underscoring the threat of the disease. African swine fever is deadly to pigs and there is no cure or vaccine for the disease, which has swept through China, the world's top pork producer, since August last year.

Jul 04 - Germany set for large wheat crop as it recovers from 2018 drought 
Germany is on course for a larger winter wheat crop in 2019 after drought caused massive harvest damage last year, the association of German farmers DBV said on Wednesday. Germany will harvest about 24.1 million tonnes of winter wheat, up from the small crop of 19.6 million tonnes last year, the DBV said in its first harvest report of this year.

Jul 04 - Brazil to act on deforestation if concerns confirmed, minister says
Brazil will take action if concerns about an increase in deforestation are confirmed, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday as Brazil faces environmental pressure under the terms of the EU-Mercosur free trade deal. The deal agreed to last week includes provisions that the two sides must effectively implement the Paris Agreement on climate change as well as other commitments for limiting deforestation, according to an outline provided by the European Union.

Jul 03 - U.S. judge to slash $80 million Roundup jury verdict-court hearing
A U.S. judge on Tuesday said he would reduce an $80 million damage award against Bayer AG to $50 million or less in the case of a man who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the jury's $75 million punitive damages award to plaintiff Edwin Hardeman in March could not stand.

 Jul 03 - Debate over U.S. corn plantings rages on in wake of USDA survey -Braun
Corn analysts were on the defensive on Friday, blaming the U.S. government’s procedures after its survey showed a very large number of planted acres relative to predictions despite a wet, record-slow planting season. After Friday’s revelations, analysts are still trying to decide the most likely acreage scenario. That picture should be much clearer in about six weeks and it may confirm that the market was ultimately in the wrong ahead of the June survey.

 Jul 03 - Brazil's JBS buying cattle from deforested Amazon land - report
Brazilian food processor JBS SA has been buying cattle from ranchers operating on deforested land in the Amazon that the government had said must not be used for grazing, a newspaper report said on Tuesday. Repórter Brasil, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Guardian reported that a JBS supplier in the northern Brazilian state of Pará had been raising cattle in a deforested area that had been embargoed by the environment agency Ibama.

Jul 03 - Indonesia palm oil exports seen lower in May, stock rises - survey
Indonesia's palm output in May likely rose from a month earlier, while exports declined, according to a Reuters survey of industry groups and researcher. Palm oil output in Indonesia, the world's top exporter, likely rose to 4.6 million tonnes in May, up from 4.42 million tonnes in April, according to a survey of two palm oil industry groups and a state palm oil research firm.

Jul 02 - Locked out of China, U.S. pork producers sniff out new buyers
U.S. hog farmers lost hundreds of millions of dollars in export sales to China and Mexico after President Donald Trump launched his trade wars last year. But the sector has largely offset those massive losses by cobbling together new customers in smaller markets from Colombia to Vietnam, according a Reuters analysis of data from the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

 Jul 02 - What extra U.S. farm products could China buy ?
China has agreed to make unspecified new purchases of farm products from the United States, President Donald Trump said after meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Japan. China was the top buyer on average of U.S. agriculture exports from 2010 to 2017, making purchases worth $21.6 billion a year, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed.

 Jul 02 - Crop Watch: Corn and soybean growth boosted by warmer weather - Braun
Last week’s weather was largely welcome for the U.S. Crop Watch corn and soybeans as the warmth helped speed up growth and improve coloring in the plants. However, the crop maturity still greatly lags normal pace and the producers are expecting yields to come in close to average levels. Warmer temperatures are expected to persist for much of this week, and the producers mostly see this as helpful for their crops. 

Jul 02 - Egypt's GASC seeks wheat for Aug. 2-12 shipment
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Monday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Aug. 2-12. GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said the authority was seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Paraguay and Serbia.

Jul 02 - Brazil meatpacking shares surge on EU-Mercosur trade deal
Shares of Brazilian meatpackers rose sharply on Monday on prospects for stronger exports to the European Union following a trade deal reached last week with South American bloc Mercosur. JBS SA  the world's largest meat producer, rose 6% to 22.51 reais in late afternoon trade, while rival BRF SA, the world's biggest chicken exporter, jumped 8% to 31.91 reais. Marfrig Global Foods which is in talks for a merger with BRF, rose more than 3%.

Jul 02 - Russian wheat forecasts hit by June heat, rain expected
Estimates of Russia's wheat crop and exports were cut on Monday as analysts and a weather forecaster gave their latest assessment on the negative impact of June's dry, hot weather. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter which ships its grain to Africa, the Middle East and Asia, started harvesting the 2019 grain crop in June when there was a heat wave in several regions.

Jul 01 - Swine fever toll in China may be twice as high as reported, industry insiders say
As many as half of China's breeding pigs have either died from African swine fever or been slaughtered because of the spreading disease, twice as many as officially acknowledged, according to the estimates of four people who supply large farms. While other estimates are more conservative, the plunge in the number of sows is poised to leave a large hole in the supply of the country's favourite meat, pushing up food prices and devastating livelihoods in a rural economy that includes 40 million pig farmers.

Jul 01 - Funds boost bullish corn bets but get thumped by USDA's acreage peg - Braun
Speculators extended optimism in Chicago-traded corn futures and options through early last week, but they took a painful beating on Friday following the U.S. government's extremely bearish corn area estimate. Market participants expected the U.S. Department of Agriculture's June area survey to show 6 million fewer corn acres than March intentions due to the record slow planting efforts and persistently wet spring.

Jul 01 - USDA reports large U.S. soybean sale to China ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday reported a large soybean sale to China, an apparent goodwill gesture a day before the first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in seven months. The trade war has curbed exports of U.S. crops to China and looms over the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan. Expectations have dimmed that the world's two biggest economies can ease tensions when Trump and Xi meet in Osaka on Saturday.

Jul 01 - China finds armyworm in major corn producer Shandong - Beijing News
China has found the destructive fall armyworm in the major corn-producing province of Shandong in the north, the government-backed Beijing News reported on Monday. The pest, first detected in the southwestern province of Yunnan in early January, has spread to Shandong but has not damaged crops in the northern province, Beijing News reported, citing an expert from a government think tank.

Jul 01 - India had driest June in five years, fears for crops
India had its driest June in five years because monsoon rains were delayed, the weather department said late on Sunday, raising fears for crops and the broader economy. Overall, the monsoon rains were a third lower than average, though in some states including the sugar cane growing northern state of Uttar Pradesh, they were as much as 61 percent lower, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.

Jul 01 - Heatwave seen trimming, not slashing EU grain harvest
A record-breaking heatwave in western Europe may trim grain harvest production but the searing heat is not expected to last long enough to cause the kind of severe crop losses seen during a drought last year. The unusually early summer heatwave has gripped parts of continental Europe this week, bringing the highest temperatures on record in France on Friday.

Jul 01 - Zimbabwe moves to keep a lid on maize prices after drought
Zimbabwe has banned farmers from selling maize to anyone other than the state Grain Market Board as the government moves to keep prices of the staple crop down after a severe drought cut output. Under regulations published on Friday, any individuals or companies that buy maize directly from farmers could face up to two years in jail. The Grain Marketing Board will be the sole buyer of the crop and will then sell it to millers.

Jul 01 - Chinese envoy says Syngenta takeover was a bad deal - report
Beijing's ambassador to Switzerland said ChemChina's $43 billion takeover of seed and agrochemicals firm Syngenta was a mistake, adding he would have tried to stop the 2017 deal had he been in Bern at the time, a newspaper reported in an interview on Saturday. "If I had been the ambassador a year earlier, the takeover wouldn't have taken place," Gen Wenbin was quoted as telling the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, without giving specific reasons for his opposition to the deal.