Russian Wheat Sees Strength Amid Global Wheat Complex Turning Bullish
Hellenic Shipping News – 12/3/2018
Russian 12.5% protein wheat strengthened to its highest level in six weeks Thursday as buyers anticipate firmer global wheat prices. “There has been a lot of hand-to-mouth activity,” a source said, explaining that buyers waited too long for prices to get weaker. In recent weeks, prices have dragged as sellers held on to cargoes looking for a spike in prices despite meager buying interest, especially amid the threat of competitive pricing from global sellers.
Grain Imports Not Impacted by Russia, Ukraine Tension
World-Grain – 11/30/2018
Grain exports are not expected to be affected by tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Azov Sea because it is low season, Reuters reported, citing the TASS news agency. “The Azov route is being actively used for Russian grain exports during the river navigation period, so in the autumn-to-winter time, volumes of shipments via this route go down,” TASS quoted the Russian agriculture ministry as saying. “So the current situation (Russia-Ukraine standoff) is not expected to bring any serious changes (to grain exports).”
What Are People Saying About USMCA Signing?
Nebraska Farmer – 11/30/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed an authorization for the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement on Friday morning in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, with their ministers signing it shortly after. The vast majority of the pact still needs to be ratified by lawmakers in the three countries.
Farm Groups Call for Swift Farm Bill Passage
High Plains Journal – 12/2/2018
The two largest farming groups in the United States have called for swift passage of the farm bill by a congressional conference committee. Faced with the lowest farm income in 12 years, the presidents of the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union are asking Senate and House conferees to move quickly. Everything from commodity price supports to nutrition, soil and water conservation, trade promotion and more depend on swift passage.
Wheat Crop Continues to Shrink in Oklahoma
Tulsa World – 12/2/2018
In a trend that has been growing for several years, Oklahoma farms are bringing in less wheat. This year Oklahoma’s wheat harvest was 28.6 million bushels less than last year. In 2018, 70 million bushels were harvested in comparison to 98.6 million bushels in 2017. The year before that in 2016, some 136.5 million bushels of wheat were harvested in Oklahoma, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, fields are not just being idled or turned into pasture. Crops such as cotton, soybean, corn and sorghum are being planted on land that once grew wheat. And although wheat production in Oklahoma has seen a steady downward trend over the last several years, other crops are increasingly becoming a source of farm income.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates