China Sales Hopes Lift Soy, Wheat Sinks on Demand Worry
Successful Farming – 12/5/2018
U.S. soybean futures inched higher for a fourth straight session on Wednesday in light trading as investors sought clues as to whether a truce between Washington and Beijing in their trade dispute would revive U.S. soybean sales to China. Corn, which could also benefit from renewed Chinese demand, ended little changed. But wheat retreated for the first time in four sessions, pressured by concerns about weak demand for U.S. shipments.
What Happens If The U.S. Terminates NAFTA
Reuters – 12/5/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would soon give formal notice to the U.S. Congress to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), giving lawmakers six months to approve a new trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada to replace it. Trump said that if U.S. lawmakers don’t approve the new agreement, then the three countries would revert to the rules of trade that existed before NAFTA came into effect in 1994.
Ending Ag’s Reliance on China Sales
Politico – 12/5/2018
Skepticism about the U.S.-China trade truce helped fuel a stock market drop Tuesday, but ag commodities like corn and soybeans were up again. The trade war has Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue stressing the need to diversify export arrangements and look beyond China for new buyers of U.S. farm goods.
Producer Sentiment Holds Steady, But Lack of New Farm Bill Concerns Farmers
Purdue University – 12/4/2018
Agricultural producer sentiment held steady in November with producers remaining optimistic about the state of the agricultural economy, according to results from the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The November barometer reading of 134 was only 1 percent lower than October, which is similar to levels seen last spring before trade disruptions began. The barometer utilizes a survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the country. The barometer’s two sub-indices remain mostly unchanged from October; the Index of Current Conditions held at 115, and the Index of Future Expectations dropped 3 points to a reading of 143.
Education May Be Key Ingredient in CRISPR Technology Adoption
Southeast Farm Press – 12/5/2018
Will consumers accept the CRISPR Cas9 gene editing technology and the wealth of new products and cropping innovations it promises to usher in in coming years? That’s the $64 billion or so question as institutions like Texas A&M University gear up to make use of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats or CRISPR and the CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9). And it’s one being asked by scientists such as Dr. Michael Thomson, professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M and a presenter for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Food and Agribusiness Webinar Series.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates