The company, which reaped big profits as meat prices soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, has since confronted a decline and slowing demand for some products. Tyson has announced the closures of six U.S. chicken plants in about the past year and also laid off corporate employees.

The pork plant employed about 1,200 people in Perry, which has about 8,200 residents and is located near the state capital Des Moines, Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh said.

“It’s a big blow to the community,” he said by phone. “It’s our largest employer in the area. It’s going to be tough to figure out what to do without them.”

Cavanaugh said the plant is set to close on June 28.

Tyson did not respond to questions about the number of employees there but encouraged workers to apply for other jobs within the company.

“While this decision was not easy, it emphasizes our focus to optimize the efficiency of our operations to best serve our customers,” the company said.

Tyson’s pork business had an adjusted operating loss of $128 million in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, down from income of $198 million in the previous year. Its sales volumes fell 2.2 per cent while average prices slid 7.9 per cent.

The plant in Perry slaughters about 9,000 pigs per day, said Steve Meyer, chief livestock economist for Ever.Ag. That accounts for a little less than 2 per cent of total U.S. pork production.

In December, Smithfield Foods said it would end contracts with 26 hog farms in Utah, citing an industry oversupply of pork and weaker consumer demand. Smithfield in October said it would shut a pork plant in North Carolina, after previously confirming it would close 35 Missouri hog farm sites.

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“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Iowa Northern Railway. We look forward to the opportunities our combined network will provide customers, farmers, and our partners to respond to the needs of their existing and new markets,” said Tracy Robinson, CN’s president and CEO in a news release.

Iowa Northern Railway operates about 275 track miles (443 km) in Iowa, the release said. It serves upper Midwest agricultural and industrial markets.

CN did not disclose the terms of the transaction. The agreement awaits regulatory review by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

That decision is expected sometime next year, CN said.

–Geralyn Wichers is associate digital editor of AGCanada.com. She writes from southeastern Manitoba.

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Fertilizer costs have soared due to rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and coal prices triggered output cuts in the energy-intensive fertilizer sector. Russia is a major potash producer and exporter of natural gas, a key input in producing nitrogen fertilizer.

Still, Vilsack said it was too early to tell what the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis would be on U.S. farmers.

“It will take some time for impact to be felt. I hope that no company out there, whether it’s fertilizer or any other supply that may be impacted by this, will take unfair advantage of this circumstance or situation,” Vilsack said at a news conference. “That’s my biggest and deepest concern.”

Vilsack’s comments came a day after Iowa’s state Attorney General Tom Miller said he is seeking explanations for higher prices from top fertilizer producers, including Mosaic Co., Nutrien, CF Industries, Koch Industries and OCI N.V.

Iowa is the top U.S. corn producing state, and U.S. farmers are expected to scale back corn plantings this year in favour of crops that require less fertilizer such as soy.

Since January 2021, anhydrous ammonia prices have increased 315 per cent, Miller said, citing USDA data. Urea prices have increased by 214 per cent, while liquid nitrogen is up by 290 per cent and potash by 213 per cent.

Miller said his office is talking with other states about soaring prices.

“Data suggest that manufacturers are taking advantage of higher farm incomes to increase their returns, but we need more information,” he said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Leah Douglas in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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Wheat futures fell on profit-taking and spillover pressure from lower soybeans, although concerns about global supplies limited declines.

Corn was lower much of the session but closed firmer on end-of-week positioning and concerns that rains would only be beneficial for a small share of the crop that is maturing later than normal.

“There were good rains overnight and more rain in the forecast for Iowa and Minnesota. That’s going to help late-filling corn and soybean crops in that area,” said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions.

Grain traders welcomed more U.S. corn and soybean export sales, although sales volumes have been mostly routine, he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday confirmed 129,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans sold to China and 150,000 tonnes of corn sold to Colombia.

Worries about reduced demand from biofuel producers continued to hang over corn and soybean prices.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended retroactively lowering biofuel blending mandates for 2020, two sources familiar with the matter said, after the agency on Thursday sent a proposal on the mandates to the White House for review.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans fell three cents to $13.23-1/4 a bushel but ended 2.5 per cent higher on the week (all figures US$). December corn futures gained three cents to $5.53-3/4 a bushel for a 3.1 per cent weekly gain, their fourth in five weeks.

CBOT December wheat fell 6-3/4 cents to $7.32-1/2 a bushel, with losses tempered by concerns about tightening global supplies amid reduced harvests in Russia and elsewhere. The contract was up 0.6 per cent on the week.

Russian agriculture consultancy Sovecon cut its wheat export forecast to the lowest in five years, due in part to a smaller crop.

— Reporting for Reuetrs by Karl Plume in Chicago; additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Colin Packham in Canberra.

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The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at a Tyson facility in Waterloo, Iowa, who died in April of complications from the virus.

The lawsuit claimed that plant managers misled workers about COVID-19, bet on workers catching the virus and allowed sick employees to continue working.

Tyson in November suspended the employees accused of wagering at the Waterloo facility — its largest U.S. pork plant.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the meatpacking industry, infecting thousands of workers at slaughterhouses hit by outbreaks.

Tyson on Wednesday separately idled another of its Iowa pork plants following a mechanical malfunction in its refrigeration system.

Operations at the Columbus Junction facility could be halted for a few days for repairs, the company said, adding that no one was hurt in the malfunction.

— Reporting for Reuters by Uday Sampath in Bangalore.

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The Biden transition office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Vilsack, who led the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under former president Barack Obama, could not immediately be reached. His spokeswoman, Regina Black, declined to comment “as an official announcement hasn’t been made.”

Vilsack’s return to USDA is likely to be applauded by Midwestern states that produce the bulk of commodity crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, and prefer him to someone from another region of the country.

The Farm Belt was battered by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and waivers that exempted oil refiners from obligations to use corn-based ethanol. But Midwestern farmers also received an unprecedented amount of direct farm subsidies under Trump even as coronavirus stimulus for millions of other Americans stalled in Congress.

Vilsack, who is chief executive of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, actively campaigned for Biden in farm states, acting as his rural and agriculture adviser during the election.

Iowa’s governor from 1999 to 2007, Vilsack is seen by establishment Democrats as a politically safe choice, largely because of his moderate politics, previous experience and long-standing, friendly relationships with large-scale farmers.

A coalition of progressive food, farming and environmental advocacy groups promoted rival candidates.

Top among them was Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who would have been the first Black woman to fill the role and was expected to increase the department’s focus on small farmers, global environmental changes, and racial and economic diversity.

Biden has selected Fudge to be secretary of housing and urban development, Politico reported.

“Vilsack is not what the USDA and our country needs to help make U.S. agriculture more sustainable and resilient in the time of climate crisis,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the Center for Food Safety.

Among Canadian farmers, Vilsack is likely to be remembered as one of the Obama administration’s point people on cross-border matters such as U.S. country-of-origin labelling on meat; access for U.S. farmers to Canada’s supply-managed dairy, egg and poultry markets; and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, from which Trump later withdrew U.S. participation.

— Reporting for Reuters by Eric Beech, Caroline Stauffer, Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Wheat ended higher as traders digested competing signals for global supply.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade closed down 8-3/4 cents at $9.05-1/4 a bushel (all figures US$).

CBOT corn fell 1/2 cents to $3.39-1/4 a bushel, while wheat ended up 6-1/2 cents at $5.28-1/2 a bushel.

Strong soybean yield estimates from a widely followed crop tour in parts of Iowa and Minnesota on Thursday, coupled with possible rain in the seven- to 10-day forecast for parts of the upper Midwest, pressured futures.

“Even though we’re dry,” said Karl Setzer, commodity risk analyst for AgriVisor. “The crops look pretty good, the ratings are relatively high and there’s better chances of rain coming at us.”

U.S. soybean export sales data for the week ending Aug. 13 also weighed on the oilseed, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a net cancellation of 12,600 tonnes of soybeans slated to be shipped in the 2019-20 marketing year.

Continued buying from top soybean importer China is uncertain as diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing persist.

Corn futures were down, but losses were limited as strong crop tour estimates in states like Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska outweigh damage as scouts reviewed storm-ravaged Iowa fields on Wednesday and Thursday.

Some analysts do not think the market has fully absorbed the storm’s impact on the corn carryout.

“Is losing 400 million bushels only worth 25 cents? I don’t think it is,” said John Zanker, market analyst for Risk Mgt Commodities, who recently drove through Iowa.

Wheat traded neutral as rising expectations for Russia’s harvest and potential drought damage in Argentina painted a mixed picture for export competition.

“We’ve got plenty of wheat right now, but there’s going to be demand,” said Setzer.

— Reporting for Reuters by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.

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In Iowa, crop prospects swung wildly from field to field, according to scouts on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour’s fourth and final day.

Mark Bernard, a Minnesota-based agronomist on the tour, made eight stops in northeastern Iowa and found corn yield potential ranging from 81 to 212 bushels per acre. Last year’s tour average in the same area was 184.66 bu./ac. and the three-year average was 187.21.

Along with wind damage, dry conditions are also stressing Iowa’s crops.

“There are big cracks in the ground,” Bernard said.

But in southern Minnesota, where weather woes plagued farmers last year, conditions improved dramatically over parts of Iowa.

“It’s like a switch got flipped,” said Jeff Wilson, a crop tour leader and senior market analyst for trade publication Pro Farmer.

Scouts found corn yield potential averaging a massive 219 bu./ac. at 14 stops in six southwestern Minnesota counties, nearly 40 per cent higher than last year’s crop tour average in the same area and about 27 per cent above the three-year tour average.

The tour does not estimate soybean yields, but instead calculates the number of soy pods in a three-foot-by-three-foot square to gauge yield potential. In those Minnesota counties, soybeans averaged 1,192 pods, above the year-ago and three-year averages.

Scouts on a second Minnesota route made 18 stops in six south-central Minnesota counties and calculated an average corn yield potential of 202 bu./ac., while soybean pod counts averaged at 1,116 pods, also firmly up from the area’s year-ago and three-year averages.

The tour is scheduled to release state yield forecasts for Iowa and Minnesota later on Thursday.

— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago.

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Iowa officials on Tuesday warned much of the crop in the path of the Aug. 10 storm would not be harvested. Some 14 million acres, or 57 per cent of Iowa’s area planted, were impacted.

Iowa corn is key for both commodity markets and global food supply chains. A big loss in the top growing state could eat into a record-large national corn forecast at a time when China is buying more of the grain.

About 52 per cent of all the corn produced in Iowa was growing on farmland affected by the derecho, according to a Gro Intelligence analysis of satellite, environmental, and government data.

In an unlikely, but worst-case, scenario where none of the corn is salvaged, it would mean the loss of about 1.38 billion bushels of corn, according to Gro, an agricultural data and AI company.

That would cut the U.S. Agriculture Department’s current forecast of U.S. farmers harvesting a record 15.278 billion bushels of corn this fall.

Furthermore, drought conditions are also stressing crops in Iowa this growing season, according to scouts surveying western and north-central Iowa on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour’s third day.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, prepared by a consortium of climatologists, showed nearly 80 per cent of Iowa was abnormally dry as of Aug. 11 and nearly 19 per cent was in a “severe drought.”

While parts of western Iowa showed robust corn and soybean crops, some scouts saw a drop in corn yield potentials in the west-central and central counties hit by both drought and high winds.

Corn yield potential averaged 162.4 bushels per acre at eight stops in west-central Iowa counties — below last year’s crop tour average in those areas of 192.71 bu./ac. and the three-year tour average of 186.28 bu./ac.

A second leg averaged corn yield potential at 167.7 bu./ac. in five stops in central Iowa — also below last year’s and the three-year averages.

“Some of this, you can harvest,” said Sherman Newlin, a crop scout and Illinois farmer. “Some of this, you won’t be able to.”

Exactly how much of Iowa’s corn crop is lost won’t be known until combines start to roll in next month, said agronomists. But corn yields in the affected areas would be down about 50 per cent from their pre-storm expectations, according to an estimate from Iowa State University Extension field specialist Virgil Schmitt.

“We have got everything from corn that is laying completely flat — that is basically a total loss — to corn that has not been affected at all, to everything in between,” Schmitt said.

— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter and Mark Weinraub in Chicago; additional reporting from Julie Ingwersen in Chicago.

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The destruction from the Aug. 10 derecho storm compounded troubles for a U.S. agricultural economy already battered by extreme weather, the U.S.-China trade war and disruptions to labour and food consumption from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s amazing, it’s big,” Trump told local and federal officials at a briefing about the damage, a day after approving disaster aid for the state.

The storm packed hurricane-force winds that crumpled steel storage bins, flattened corn fields, caused widespread damage in towns and left thousands of people without power. Crop losses come as China needs to import more corn to meet rising demand to feed livestock.

Officials said Iowa, the top U.S. corn-producing state, could fill orders from China and elsewhere with reserves.

“There are millions of acres of corn that just won’t flat-out be able to be harvested,” Mike Naig, Iowa’s agriculture secretary, said at the briefing in Cedar Rapids.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week estimated the storm affected about 37.7 million acres across the Midwest, including 14 million in Iowa.

It destroyed or seriously damaged more than 57 million bushels of commercial grain storage capacity in Iowa and a similar amount on farms, according to the state’s agriculture department. Farmers may struggle to store their crops as a result.

The cost to remove, replace or repair damaged grain bins will top US$300 million, according to Iowa’s agriculture department. Farmers in the state harvested 2.6 billion bushels of corn and 502 million bushels of soybeans last year.

“We’re offering the full support of the federal government,” Trump said.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds thanked Trump for approving federal aid, and said damage from the derecho was worse than previous disasters because the storm was more widespread.

U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Pete Gaynor said he toured the damaged areas on Monday and that “we still have a ways to go” to clear out debris and other damage.

Trump said he would direct FEMA to take a closer look at the assistance available to individuals.

Iowa is in play for the Nov. 3 presidential election, in which Republican Trump faces Democrat Joe Biden. The state supported Trump in 2016 and Democrat Barack Obama in 2012.

— Reporting for Reuters by Andrea Shalal in Cedar Rapids and Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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