The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend up to $750 million to build a sterile fly production facility in Texas to fight the flesh-eating livestock pest New World screwworm, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Friday, Aug. 15.

USDA to build Texas facility to fight flesh-eating screwworm
Sterile flys to keep infection out of U.S.

India’s Modi vows to protect farmers, cuts tax, pushes self-reliance amid Trump tariff tensions
Urges self-reliance
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the country on Friday to move towards more self-reliance, manufacture everything from fertilisers to jet engines and EV batteries, and vowed to protect farmers in the face of a trade conflict with Washington.

Brazil in talks with Canada to revive Mercosur trade deal
Broad push to diversify trade
Brazil is engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with Canada to resume negotiations for a free trade agreement between South America's Mercosur bloc and Ottawa, the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretary said.

U.S. grains: Soybeans retreat as demand worries overshadow USDA’s production cut
U.S. soybean futures declined for the first time in four sessions on profit taking on Thursday after a rally ignited by the U.S. government's lower-than-expected harvest outlook took prices to six-week highs.

U.S. livestock: Cattle slip on profit taking, technicals after weak beef export data
Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures retreated on Thursday in a profit-taking and technical setback after three sessions of gains and as disappointing weekly beef export sales data weighed on the market.

Canada looking at support for canola farmers hit by China tariffs, says Carney
Canada is focusing on a series of measures to support canola farmers hit by China's latest tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday, but did not give specific details.

JBS sees US cattle cycle improving from late 2027
JBS turns Q2 profit despite challenging operating environment
U.S.-based beef-packers will continue to reel from low cattle availability for about three or four quarters, with gradual improvements of the U.S. cattle herd happening gradually from late 2027, meatpacking giant JBS said on Thursday.

Brief La Niña expected in fall 2025 before more stable pattern returns says U.S. forecaster
A brief period of La Nina conditions is favoured in the fall and early winter 2025-26 before reverting to a more stable El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday.

Deere’s quarterly profit falls as U.S. tariffs bite farm equipment margins
Deere & Co reported a lower third-quarter profit and tightened its annual profit forecast on Thursday, as U.S. tariffs dent margins on its farm equipment, sending the company's shares down six per cent.

Importers struggle to resell Canadian canola meal caught in China tariff crossfire
Importers are struggling to resell several cargoes of Canadian canola meal that arrived in China after Beijing imposed hefty import tariffs on the protein-rich ingredient, three trade sources said.