Author: staff

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Global commodities trader Cargill began laying off employees across its vast operations on Tuesday in a drive to slash headcount by 5%, sending U.S. workers from supply chain, inventory control, and other roles to look for new jobs. Cargill, a major grain merchant and U.S. beef processor, is facing a downturn in returns in cattle, grains, and oilseeds businesses. In Minnesota, home to its headquarters, Cargill plans to terminate 475 employees at an office center in Wayzata starting on Feb. 5, the company said in a letter to state officials. Cargill began…

DAILY Bites CDFA halted Raw Farm’s operations after bird flu was detected in milk samples California reports new cases in cattle, poultry, and two more human infections Officials urge avoiding raw milk and highlight pasteurized milk’s safety DAILY Discussion The California Department of Food and Agriculture has suspended all distribution of raw milk products from Raw Farm LLC after samples tested positive for the avian flu virus. CDFA spokesperson Steve Lyle said, “All Raw Farm operations are currently under quarantine, from herds to bottled product, which means that all raw milk product distribution is suspended.” The suspension comes after CDFA…

John Deere announced more Waterloo, Iowa, layoffs Monday, once again citing reduced equipment demand and economic challenges. On January 3, 112 employees at its Waterloo Works will face indefinite layoffs, adding to over 1,000 workforce reductions there already this year. Add that those elsewhere in Iowa: the Quad Cities, 287 employees at Harvester Works, 80 at Davenport Works, and seven at Moline Seeding are being let go. The company attributes these cuts to weakening demand in agriculture and construction. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts an 18 percent drop in row-crop cash receipts for 2024, with significant price declines for…

DAILY Bites Farm income is down, and projected to drop 4.1% in 2024, nearly 23% from 2022. Crop receipts fall 9.2%, with losses in corn, soybeans, and cotton. Livestock receipts up 8.4%, with growth in cattle, milk, and eggs. DAILY Discussion The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s December 2024 farm income forecast paints a challenging picture for American agriculture, as farmers face a dramatic decline in net farm income over the past two years. The projected net farm income for 2024 is $140.7 billion, a 4.1 percent decrease from 2023 and 22.6 percent below the peak of $181.9 billion in 2022.…

The December World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report is due Tuesday, Dec. 10. Going into the report, here is some context to know for the corn, soybean, and wheat markets and what Grain Market Insider will be looking for in the updated balance sheets.  Corn Market Expectations The November WASDE report gave the corn market a bit of a boost as the USDA’s yield projections and carryout numbers came in below expectations. The national average yield was put at 183.1 bushels per acre (bpa), and the lower yield number contributed to the lower carryout number of 1.938 billion…

DAILY Bites The RIPE Project focuses on genetically enhancing crops to increase photosynthetic efficiency, enabling them to withstand heatwaves and improve yields. By bypassing the energy-intensive process of photorespiration, RIPE’s research has engineered potatoes with a 30% increase in tuber mass under extreme heat conditions. The findings have implications for other staple foods, such as cassava, in regions heavily impacted by climate change. DAILY Discussion A team from the University of Illinois has engineered potatoes to be more resilient to global warming, showing 30 percent increases in tuber mass under heatwave conditions. This adaptation may provide greater food security for…

Tyson Foods has announced plans to shut down three facilities in Pennsylvania and Kansas as part of its efforts to “optimize” operations. The closures, set for early 2024, will affect more than 1,000 employees, reflecting the company’s ongoing challenges in its beef and pork segments. Two of the facilities, located in Philadelphia, will cease operations by the end of January, impacting 229 workers. These sites are part of the Original Philly Holdings business that Tyson acquired seven years ago. Meanwhile, in Kansas, a larger beef and pork processing plant in Emporia will close in February, affecting over 800 employees. “As…

Last year, I wrote a column about the repeal of the federal estate tax exemption and how certain estate and succession planning steps needed to be considered. Since the election, however, many experts say there’s no chance the estate tax exemption will be cut.  As a refresher, an individual can currently shield $13,610,000 from the federal estate tax, or $27,220,000 for a married couple. Pre-election fears were that the current law would sunset January 1, 2026, reverting the amount that could be shielded to $6,800,000 per person with “adjustments for inflation,” or around $7,500,000 million per person.   Now, the most…

March corn ended the day down 2¼¢ at $4.30 per bushel. January soybeans closed down 8¢ at $9.83¾ per bushel. March wheat contracts closed mixed. CBOT wheat was up less than a penny at the close at $5.48¼ per bushel. KC wheat was up less than a penny at at $5.42½ per bushel. Minneapolis wheat was down less than a penny at at $5.89½ per bushel. “Commodity futures struggled today, more from a lack of interest than much of anything else,” said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “More interest was on geopolitical events today, mainly the developments in…

This is a four-part series on transitioning grain marketing responsibilities that will be updated throughout the year. Part 1:  5 steps to transition the grain sales process Earlier this year, when the grain markets were tanking, some farmers went into full-blown panic mode. One Tuesday in mid-January, my phone rang. It was one of our Missouri customers. “I was too busy to make any grain sales when you did the corn and soybean sales right around Thanksgiving,” he said. “Now, corn is down over 60¢ and soybeans have dropped by $2 per bushel. I kept hoping we could get back…