Usda News

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal claims that the assessment by 74% of poll respondents in election swing states who believe inflation moved in the wrong direction last year is incorrect. The piece went on to state that the respondents’ perceptions were “contradicted by hard economic data”.Like many of us, I just love “hard data”, especially when it’s “economic”.One great aspect of “hard data” is that we must assume it’s correct; otherwise, how could it be “hard”? In fact…

Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said.The shipping snarl through one of the world's main maritime trade routes comes at the peak season for U.S. crop exports, and the higher costs are threatening to dent demand for U.S. corn and soy suppliers that have already ceded market share to Brazil in recent years.

Chicago corn and soybean futures slid on Tuesday after a weekly report from the U.S. government showed better-than-expected conditions for both crops.Wheat fell for a third consecutive session on increasing estimates for Russia’s production and exports.The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.2% to $13.23-3/4 a bushel, as of 0401 GMT, and corn fell 0.7% to $4.84-1/2 a bushel. Wheat gave up 0.2% to $6.15 a bushel.Weekly condition ratings for the U.S. soybean and corn crops improved in the past week more than analysts expected, U.S.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation.The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse.Why is it important?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The current deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.Ukraine grain has also played a direct role with 725…

Ukraine has shipped significantly more grain over the last several months than originally expected, especially corn, easing worries that were prominent last year over the country’s export program.But Russia now claims it will not support the Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 due to obstacles on its own food and fertilizer exports. That deal was signed last July to allow shipments from Ukrainian seaports, overseen jointly by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.Traders…

“On Friday February 24, 2023, one year has passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During that year, dry bulk exports from Ukraine have dropped 77.8% compared to the same period a year earlier, causing a decline in global dry bulk volumes. Seaborne exports have been restricted to agricultural goods and even those have been limited,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Ukraine’s sea ports were under a blockade from the start of the war until the end of July 2022 when the Black Sea Grain deal was signed.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Silver Ships announced Steven Clarke has been appointed to the role of CEO. Clarke joined Silver Ships in 2015 as co-owner and chief financial officer. Since then, the company experienced a revenue increase of more than 40%. Clarke has focused on diversification of the Silver Ships customer base. This includes segmenting the customer base from more than 80% military focused to a more even cross-industry segmentation, with expansion into industries such as fire rescue and law enforcement."Since joining the team in 2015…

U.S. soybean exports are trailing their normal autumn pace despite rising supplies from an accelerating harvest, as low river levels have slowed the flow of grain barges to export terminals, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Monday.Corn exports are also lagging their typical harvest-time rate, weekly USDA export inspections data showed.Low water on the Mississippi River and its tributaries has slowed the delivery of grain barges to export terminals along the Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S.

China's soybean stocks are set to tighten further as delays in shipments from the United States deepen shortages of key animal feed ingredient soymeal, keeping prices at record highs.Ships carrying up to three million tonnes of U.S. soybeans which were scheduled to arrive this month and in November are likely to get delayed by about 15 to 20 days, two soybean traders told Reuters.While U.S. cargo delays are likely to weigh on benchmark Chicago soybean futures, tight soymeal supplies will buoy Chinese hog prices.

China's soybean stocks are set to tighten further as delays in shipments from the United States deepen shortages of key animal feed ingredient soymeal, keeping prices at record highs. Ships carrying up to three million tonnes of U.S. soybeans which were scheduled to arrive this month and in November are likely to get delayed by about 15 to 20 days, two soybean traders told Reuters. While U.S. cargo delays are likely to weigh on benchmark Chicago soybean futures, tight soymeal supplies will buoy Chinese hog prices.

On September 14, 2022, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I Committee), Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, held a hearing which indicated a potential revitalization, and new enforcement regime, of U.S.-flag requirements under the Cargo Preference Act of 1954 (the CPA). The hearing occurred on the heels of a Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report regarding the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) lack of COA enforcement, with significant recommendations to revamp oversight by the agency to ensure a growing…

U.S. crop exports at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals were at their lowest level in nine years for the first week of October, a period when export shipments typically accelerate, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Tuesday.Low water on southern sections of the Mississippi River closed the major shipping waterway for days last week, halting the flow of grain barges from Midwest farms to the nation’s largest grain shipping port.The ill-timed shipping disruption comes as farmers are busy harvesting corn and soybeans…

Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…

Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Sunday it will help fund a new container yard for agricultural exports at California's Port of Oakland, as the government, ports and food companies scramble to ease costly shipping delays.The multimillion-dollar project is set to open in March, and officials said it could be replicated elsewhere.Strong U.S. demand for goods from Asia during the pandemic has boosted imports, clogging West Coast ports. Some ocean vessels have left the United States carrying empty containers after making deliveries…

The U.S. soybean crop that farmers harvested in the fall of 2021 was the largest on record, as yields were bigger than previously estimated, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.The higher U.S. production view comes as global demand for the oilseed soars and forecasts for South American harvests are cut due to hot and dry weather in key growing areas.Soybean futures briefly turned higher after the data was released."They lowered Brazil and Argentina," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading.

Smaller-than-expected soybean harvests in the major production states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio sparked a surprise cut to the U.S. harvest outlook, the government said on Tuesday.But U.S. corn production will be bigger than previously projected as farmers recorded their biggest yield ever, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department's monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Expectations for rising production estimates had put pressure on soy and corn prices heading into the report.

U.S. soybean exports jumped last week to a six-month peak, while corn shipments were the highest in a month as Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals steadily ramped up operations disrupted nearly a month ago by Hurricane Ida, preliminary data showed on Monday.The export pace remained well below normal for this time of year as some terminals remain shuttered or running at reduced capacity after the storm flooded and damaged some facilities and wrecked the region's power grid.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

U.S. grain exports increased last week as shippers along the Louisiana Gulf Coast recovered from flooding and widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Ida's Aug. 29 landfall, but volumes were much lower than normal, preliminary data showed on Monday.Just seven export vessels were loaded with grain and soybeans at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals in the week ended Sept. 16, down from 23 vessels in the same week last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years last week as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region, preliminary data showed on Monday.Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain inspections data, an early indicator of shipments abroad, showed the volume of corn weighed and certified for export last week was the lowest in 8-1/2 years as no grain was inspected along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the busiest outlet for U.S.

Asia’s grain and oilseed buyers are set to face shipping delays of at least one month after Hurricane Ida damaged key export terminals around the U.S. Gulf Coast, two traders and one miller said. The slowdown in supplies is likely to stoke food inflation fears for price-sensitive consumers in Asia, where many importers have already drawn down crop inventories after having been forced to curb purchases amid volatile crop prices and COVID-related supply disruptions this year.Importers led by top soybean buyer China…

A cargo ship was ordered to leave the U.S waters after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Port of New Orleans discovered invasive insects found in the wood used to secure its previous cargo offloaded earlier in Mexico. The ship, named Pan Jasmine, arrived at the anchorage of Davant, downriver from New Orleans at mile marker 54, on July 17, having previously offloaded a shipment of aluminum in Vera Cruz, Mexico, after coming from Paradip, India."The wood used to pack the aluminum had not been offloaded in Mexico and was left scattered on the deck of the Pan Jasmine, which is unusual. No reason was provided to CBP as to why the dunnage was refused discharge in Mexico, and this raised a red flag.