(Dave Bedard photo)

Trump administration eyes more aid to farmers if necessary

Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration is ready to provide more federal aid to farmers if required, a White House adviser said on Monday, after rolling out up to US$12 billion since last year to offset agricultural losses from the trade dispute with China. “We have allocated $12 billion, some such, to farm assistance. […] Read more

File photo of apples in a U.S. supermarket. (CHUYN/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada gearing up to slap more tariffs on U.S. imports

Canada will update its list of U.S. imports, including farm products, on which it will place tariffs in retaliation to U.S. tariffs on imported Canadian steel and aluminum, David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said Monday. “The intention… is not to escalate anything but simply to do what we said we’d do — […] Read more



CBOT May 2019 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Trade hopes spur gains in soy futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed for the third time in four sessions on Thursday, supported by a better-than-expected export report and hopes for a trade deal with China, traders said. Corn futures also closed in positive territory, with more rain in the U.S. Midwest sparking fresh concerns about planting delays in key […] Read more


CBOT May 2019 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn posts steepest drop in nearly three years on USDA reports

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn futures tumbled more than four per cent on Friday in the market’s steepest drop in nearly three years after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated U.S. stocks and projected spring plantings above nearly all trade estimates. Soybeans and wheat followed corn lower despite USDA’s lower-than-expected soy and spring […] Read more



File photo of a cowboy herding cattle near a Mexican roadside. (GummyBone/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexican farmers urge ‘mirror’ tariffs on Trump’s rural base

Mexico City | Reuters — Leaders of Mexico’s agricultural sector are urging “mirror measures” on U.S. farm imports in politically sensitive products such as yellow corn and poultry, in an effort they argue would counter decades of subsidized imports from the United States. The three-month-old government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is currently working […] Read more