Archive for 2022

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – US grain producers are enjoying strong demand and high prices for their products, but prices work both ways and all their inputs are expensive. Around the world, their feed industry customers are looking for sustainability, but delegates at the recent Global Grain Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, heard that years of conservation programs have made the US sector confident it can lead on climate and environment.

Seth Meyer, chief economist at the US Department of Agriculture, explained to delegates ...

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Noting above average yields as harvest wraps up and a global market showing strong demand and prices, Australian grain growers are expected to see farm gate receipts for the major winter crops exceed A$20 billion, IKON Commodities said in its Feb. 9 update.

Based on grain receival reports from the major grain storage groups IKON Commodities has revised its Australian crop estimates as follows from its last report:

Wheat production estimated at 39.043 million tonnes, up 1.8%
Barley production ...

BEIJING, CHINA – China plays an enormous role in the world grains market, with a large population that is increasing in affluence. Its huge pigmeat sector has been disrupted by African swine fever and then reformed in the aftermath of the disease, pushing feed demand higher.

In its Nov. 18 Grain Market Report, the International Grains Council (IGC) put China’s total grains production at 417.7 million tonnes in 2021-22, compared with 403.2 million in 2020-21.

The IGC puts the wheat crop at ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — Whole wheat flour production in 2021 was 19.964 million cwts, down 157,000 cwts , or 0.8%, from 20.121 million cwts in 2020, according to data issued Feb. 1 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture. The annual figure was the smallest since NASS began tracking whole wheat flour (and all flour) production data in 2014.

Since peaking in 2015 at 24.115 million cwts, annual production of whole wheat flour has fallen 4.151 ...

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US — Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) has been named one of the world’s most admired companies in the food production industry for the 14th year in a row by Fortune magazine.

“This achievement year after year is a true testament to our talented, diverse and dedicated workforce,” said Juan Luciano, chairman and chief executive officer of ADM, based in Chicago, Illinois, US. “I am proud of the work we do every day to unlock the power of nature ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, US – US farmer sentiment weakened in January as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer declined 6 points to a reading of 119, its second-lowest reading since July 2020. The Index of Current Conditions fell 13 points to a reading of 133, while the Index of Future Expectations changed little in January, down 2 points to a reading of 112.

The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 US agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone ...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The European Commission on Jan. 27 revised its forecast of European Union soft wheat stocks upward due to sharply increased imports.

The Commission forecasts soft wheat stocks to reach 13.3 million tonnes at the end of the 2021-22 marketing year, a four-year high and increase from its December projection of 12.9 million tonnes.

The Commission revised the EU’s soft wheat imports higher by 500,000 tonnes for an overall total of 2 million tonnes.

The Commission’s forecast for 2021-22 production and ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — Tight supplies of grain and oilseeds have propelled prices in recent months to multi-year highs for ingredients like flour and soybean oil. Data issued in mid-January by the US Department of Agriculture provided some relief, but a prominent commodity analyst cautioned it would be premature to declare an end to the commodity bull market.

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service on Jan. 12 estimated area planted to winter wheat for harvest in 2022 at 34.397 million acres, ...