Ag in the News

03/27/2008

National

Feeding dried distillers grains does not increase E. coli in cattle: study
A new study conducted at Kansas State University concluded that the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 or salmonella are no different in cattle fed steam-flaked corn and in cattle fed the same with 25 percent dried distillers grains supplementation. MORE!

Cargill agrees to joint food safety training program in China
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Cargill Inc. said it has agreed to establish a joint international food safety management-training program with China's food safety agency. MORE!

Bush nominates new agricultural negotiator
President Bush on Wednesday nominated A. Ellen Terpstra as Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador. MORE!

Organic Valley revenues jump 29 percent as co-op celebrates 20 years
Organic Valley Family of Farms, the La Farge, Wis.-based farmer-owned cooperative that sells certified organic meat products under the Organic Prairie brand name, announced its 2007 revenues reached $432.5 million, a 29 percent increase over 2006 and a nearly 250 percent increase over the past five years. MORE!

Panda Express rolls out new beef item
Rosemead, Calif.-based quick-service Chinese chain Panda Express announced that it is introducing Beijing Beef to the menu at its more than 1,000 U.S. locations. MORE!

Wrap Up

Weekly Export Sales today. For the week ended March 20, traders expect: wheat sales from 450,000 to 650,000 MT; corn sales from 650,000 to 850,000 MT; soybean sales from 350,000 to 500,000 MT; meal sales from 100,000 to 150,000 MT; soyoil sales from 10,000 to 20,000 MT; and cotton sales from 300,000 to 500,000 running bales.

Farm bill update. Lawmakers now appear to be centering on a plan that would spend $10.8 billion above the farm bill budget baseline via a plan that would include cuts to direct payments and crop insurance and cuts in other commodity spending. The CRP would be capped at 32 million acres. Jim Wiesemeyer has more on what lawmakers are working on now in his Inside Washington Today column on the Pro Farmer page.

Elevators struggling in current market climate.  Limiting or eliminating farmers' ability to forward contract grain on the cash market has been one tool elevators are using to cope with increased margin requirements and other financial demands in the current market climate, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal. Some elevators have gone under and others are being forced to seek additional financial backing from banks (and some of those banks have needed to seek additional funding as well) to meet margin calls that have increased.

South Korea beef situation. South Korea's new foreign minister said he expects the beef trade dispute between the U.S. and Korea will be resolved, but he would not predict a time. He made the comments in Washington after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rice who called for a resolution to the issue.