Ukraine Grain Sales Seen at 28.6 MLN T so Far 2018/19
Reuters – 02/06/2019
The volume of Ukrainian grain already exported and prepared for export has reached 28.6 million tonnes so far in the 2018/19 season, against 25 million by the same point a season ago, Ukraine’s state service for food safety said on Wednesday. Ukraine has said it harvested a record 70 million tonnes of grain in 2018 versus 61.3 million in 2017, while the agriculture ministry said exports could rise to 47.2 million tonnes in the July 2018-June 2019 season from 39.4 million the season before. It said the volume included 11.5 million tonnes of wheat, including 7.1 million tonnes of milling wheat, compared with 12.3 million in the same period last season.
ADM Fourth-Quarter Profit Misses as U.S.- China Trade War Stings, Shares Drop
Reuters – 02/05/2019
U.S. grains trader Archer Daniels Midland Co on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter 2018 earnings as the U.S.-China trade war roiled global agriculture, sending its shares down more than 6 percent. Three of its four business units reported lower results, including ADM’s grain trading origination business, where adjusted operating profit slumped 30 percent to $183 million despite higher volumes of North American corn and soybean exports to markets outside of China.
NAWG CEO Responds to 2019 State of the Union Address
NAWG – 02/06/2019
Tonight, President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union Address. The theme of the speech was “Choosing Greatness” and focused on immigration, trade, infrastructure, healthcare, and national security. NAWG CEO Chandler Goule provided the following statement in response: “Wheat farmers are pleased to hear President Trump discuss the need to invest in America’s infrastructure. With any infrastructure legislation, we hope the President and Congress prioritize the critical needs of rural infrastructure. This includes making improvements to transportation infrastructure, expanding access to broadband, and updating rural agricultural research facilities.
USDA Setting Listening Session, Timeline for New Farm Bill
Agri-Pulse – 02/06/2019
Despite the 35-day shutdown that all but halted work on the new farm bill, the Department of Agriculture is close to finishing a timeline for implementing revisions to programs, says Deputy Ag Secretary Steve Censky. Speaking at a Farm Foundation forum on Tuesday, Censky said the department would be briefing leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees soon on the department’s timeline and also would be scheduling listening sessions to gather input from producers and others with an interest in the programs.
New Plant Genome Cloning Method Promises to Bust Rust, Other Diseases in Wheat
American Ag Network – 02/06/2019
A new method for discovering and cloning genes could accelerate the development of rust resistance in wheat and other crops. In a study published this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology, scientists at the University of Minnesota, along with colleagues in England and Australia, describe a new method for discovering and cloning not just one, but potentially the entire complement of disease resistance genes in a plant species.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates