Ag in the News

06/17/2008

National

Minn. beef plant sustains major damage in fire
The Minnesota Beef Industries plant in Buffalo Lake, Minn., lost almost a day's worth of production in a weekend fire that caused extensive damage. MORE!

U.S. corn crop continues to deteriorate: USDA
USDA rated 43 percent of the U.S. corn crop as fair, poor or very poor based on conditions in the week ended June 15, compared with just 30 percent of the crop rated in that range last year. MORE!

Illinois horse slaughter plant's last appeal denied
As expected, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Cavel International Inc. regarding an Illinois law that prohibits horse slaughter for human consumption. MORE!

Ethanol production hit by floods and recent corn price rise
Flooding in Iowa has taken 300 million gallons of the state's 2.2 billion gallons of annual ethanol production temporarily offline, reducing corn demand by more than 300,000 bushels per day, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. MORE!

AMI's new brochure pitches value cuts to budgeting consumers
The American Meat Institute announced the release of a brochure that is meant to help consumers on a budget by suggesting they buy and freeze family packs of meat, make the most out of value cuts of beef and pork and follow other tips to stretch their grocery dollars. MORE!

Tennessee Pride introduces new breakfast sausage
Madison, Tenn.-based Odom's Tennessee Pride Sausage Co. has announced that it recently introduced its first all natural breakfast sausage. MORE!

Wrap Up

Mixed overnight trade. Corn futures finished mixed in overnight trade. July soybeans ended steady, while deferred futures were mostly 4 to 9 cents higher. Chicago wheat ended mostly 2 to 3 cents lower.

Crop ratings slip. As expected, the impact of floods in areas of Iowa, Indiana and other Midwest locations showed up some in the weekly Crop Progress Report from USDA. Corn and soybean condition ratings both declined in the weekly data as farmers keep an eye on swamped fields. President Bush will get a briefing today from officials on the flooding in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest.

ABARE crop estimates. Dry weather in key portions of Australia has prompted the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) to cut their wheat crop estimate to 23.7 MMT, down from a prior expectation of over 26 MMT. The agency warned that if precip forecasts don't materialize, the wheat crop could suffer further in areas like Western Australia. Here's a link to read more.

China deals. As is typically the case ahead of top-level meetings with the U.S., China signed deals to purchase $4.5 million in U.S. soybeans. Reports say the sales are for the 2008-09 marketing year. The two countries meet today for planned talks in Annapolis, MD. Meanwhile, reports out of the country continue to play up expectations for record grain production this year in China.