Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday finished lower for the first time in three session due to profit-taking and continued heavy stock market losses, said traders. “People were just watching what happened with stocks over the past few days and decided they wanted out of everything and figure it […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Stocks, profit-taking hit CME live cattle
ADM in talks to buy Bunge as early as this week
Reuters — Top U.S. grains merchant Archer Daniels Midland could reach an agreement to buy smaller rival Bunge as early as this week, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The potential deal comes as large grain traders that make money by buying, selling, storing and shipping commodity crops have struggled […] Read more
Ontario pot firm Aphria selling U.S. stake
Reuters — Ontario marijuana company Aphria said on Friday it agreed to sell its minority stake in U.S.-based Copperstate Farms to Liberty Health Sciences for $20 million. Boards of Aphria and Liberty have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Aphria has been looking to hive off its business […] Read more
At least two killed in potato farmer protests in Peru
Lima | Reuters — At least two people have been killed in clashes at protests by potato farmers across the Peruvian Andes, police said on Thursday, as demonstrators demanded the government make good on promises to buy excess potatoes after a sharp price drop. Thousands of farmers took part in the protests on Wednesday and […] Read more
Cannabis firm Aphria mulls sale of U.S. unit
Reuters — Canadian cannabis company Aphria said Thursday it was exploring “strategic alternatives,” including a sale, for its U.S. business, amid tightening enforcement of federal cannabis laws in the country. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice revoked an Obama administration policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing marijuana-related crimes in states that had […] Read more
Southern Plains drought slows U.S. cattle herd growth
Chicago | Reuters — Encroaching drought in the U.S. southern Plains contributed to the smallest rise in the nation’s cattle population in three years, analysts said after the government’s semi-annual cattle inventory report on Wednesday. Insufficient moisture in parts of Texas and Oklahoma, along with areas of persistent dryness in the northern Plains, hurt winter […] Read more
Zimbabwe to give white farmers 99-year leases
Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture. Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the southern African nation, after former president Robert Mugabe’s government evicted more than 4,000 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle post losses, but off session lows
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Tuesday settled lower, weighed down by profit-taking and initial fund liquidation, said traders. Rising wholesale beef values and CME live cattle futures’ discount to prices for slaughter-ready or cash cattle lifted contracts from session bottoms. February live cattle finished 0.875 cents/lb. lower at 124.825 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle rebound after sharp drop
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Friday, with strength in the cash market underpinning a technical rebound from Thursday’s sharp decline, traders said. “We had a break that was a surprisingly quick break from the top,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities. “Today we brought back the technical […] Read more
Canadians spent $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadians spent an estimated $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017, Statistics Canada said on Thursday, with the country on track to legalize recreational use of the drug nationwide later this year. About 4.9 million Canadians between the ages of 15 to 64 purchased both medical and non-medical cannabis last year, the […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
