News

LONDON, ENGLAND — Wheat planted area in Britain is forecast to expand by 26% in 2021 to 1.74 million hectares, according to a survey issued by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on July 8.

AHDB noted that sowing conditions for wheat, which is planted in the fall, are more favorable than a year ago, when many farmers shifted to planting barley in the spring.

The survey noted that wheat planted area for 2021 is in line with the five-year average.

With ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — A research project just underway aims to prove properly managed wheat of specific varieties can simultaneously be high yielding, high quality and be highly profitable for the grower.

The project will unfold over the next three years under the auspices of the Wheat Action Plan, created collaboratively by the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), the National Wheat Foundation and key partners from several segments of the wheat industry. The group conceived the project during a January ...

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Grain inspections in the third week of June were the lowest weekly volume since January 2019, the US Department of Agriculture said in its latest Grain Transportation Update.

In the week ended June 24, total inspections of corn, wheat, and soybeans for export from all major US export regions totaled 1.4 million tonnes, down 45% from the previous week, down 33% from the same week in 2020, and down 35% from the recent three-year average for ...

LONDON, ENGLAND — The International Grains Council (IGC) announced on July 5 that Taras Kachka of Ukraine has been named chairperson of the organization for 2021-22.

Kachka, who is deputy minister for economic development, trade and agriculture for Ukraine, said the IGC’s common goal “is to develop further engagement with all the major producers and consumers of grains.”

“The commodities within the scope of the IGC are fundamental for global food security and food systems,” he said. “We will try to ensure ...

RABAT, MOROCCO — Morocco has increased its 2021-22 wheat and barley production outlook by 206% over the previous marketing year due to favorable weather conditions, according to a July 1 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Morocco Ministry of Agriculture is forecasting total wheat and barley output at 9.8 million tonnes, which is about 26% above the country’s 10-year production average.

The estimate includes 4.8 million tonnes of common wheat, 2.4 million of durum wheat, ...

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US — The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) has produced a new firefighting manual for grain facilities.

The NGFA Firefighting Manual: A Guide for Operators of Grain Handling Facilities and Fire Department ...

It was just over a 100 years that the sun slowly began rising on a new technology that was destined to transform US agriculture. While it would take a few decades for crop hybridization to take hold, the innovation ultimately would utterly transform crop plantings and play a pivotal role in the ascendance of corn as “king” of US agriculture.

For the last 40 years, this transformation has relegated wheat further and further from its former central position in the farm ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — The US Department of Agriculture in its annual June 30 Acreage report estimated US corn and wheat planted area below the average of trade expectations, while total wheat area was above the trade average. Futures prices for all three commodities shot higher after the 12:00 Eastern Daylight Time release of the report, including daily limit gains for corn futures.

Meanwhile, estimates of June 1 corn, soybean and wheat stocks, released at the same time in the USDA’s ...

DENVER, COLORADO, US — Since mid-2020 China has purchased large amounts of US grain to due to a jump in feed demand, strong currency and less availability from Brazil. China’s need for grains is expected to continue but the country’s purchasing plan seems to be changing, according to a CoBank Knowledge Exchange report.

Continued pork production is expected to fuel China’s demand for feed and purchase of US grains but the current US grain prices have become volatile, and China is ...

BRASILIA, BRAZIL — Delayed planting and continued dry conditions has dropped Brazil’s estimated corn production 11 million tonnes, to 94 million tonnes, for the 2020-21 marketing year, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

If realized, the 2020-21 marketing year corn production would be the lowest Brazilian corn production volume since the 2017-18 marketing year, which also was challenged by drought.

The USDA also has reduced its 2020-21 marketing year corn export forecast ...