Marketplace (August 31)
“After more than half a century in which the United States boasted a near-lock on being the world’s leading exporter of corn, the distinction has shifted to Brazil…. The reordering of the corn hierarchy follows a similar erosion of U.S. dominance in exports of other staple commodities, like wheat and soybeans, over the last decade or so.”
Tags: Brazil, Corn, Dominance, Erosion, Exporter, Exports, Hierarchy, Reordering, Soybeans, Staple commodities, U.S., Wheat, World’s leading
Chicago Tribune (June 8)
“Because of historic rains, less than half the normal amount of corn has been planted in Illinois.” The state is “the nation’s second-largest producer of corn,” typically supplying about 15% of U.S. production. “A disruption in planting has the potential to shake marketplaces, both domestic and foreign,” and this has been the slowest ever start. “As of June 2, Illinois farmers have only been able to sow corn seed in 45% of the acreage dedicated to the crop, 53% below the five-year average.”
Tags: Corn, Disruption, Historic, Illinois, Marketplaces, Planting, Rain, U.S.
Chicago Tribune (November 26)
“Global warming is a Midwest crisis in the making.” A just released federal climate change report predicts “sopping rains will damage crops, then heat waves will fry them. Humid conditions will spur the growth of pests and pathogens that will degrade the quality of stored corn or soybeans. Before mid-century… Midwest agricultural productivity will slip back to levels of the 1980s.”
Tags: Agriculture, Climate change, Corn, Crisis, Crops, Damage, Global warming, Heat waves, Midwest, Pathogens, Pests, Productivity, Rains, Soybeans
NBC News (June 25)
“The Trump Administration’s trade war is starting to have real impacts on farmers who grow everything from corn to cotton.” Soybeans look set to bear much of the economic pain. “Soybeans were the nation’s largest agricultural export in 2017 and China was the biggest buyer, purchasing 57 percent of the total. But since China announced the tariff, the price of soybeans has fallen by roughly 15 percent to a more than two-year low.”
Wall Street Journal (September 3)
“All across American agriculture, production is up and prices are down.” With bumper crops expected, “corn prices have tanked, dropping to about $2.85 a bushel today from $6.50 three crop-seasons ago.” The Department of Agriculture is stepping in to help farmers with some subsidies and other programs, but what farmers really need is for Congress to “approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” which would boost demand overseas substantially.
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corn, Crops, Demand, DoA, Farmers, Overseas, Prices, Production, Subsidies, TPP
Los Angeles Times (June 25)
“Billions of dollars of property damage along the Eastern Seaboard. Sharply reduced yields of corn, wheat and soy at Midwestern farms. Rising sea levels threatening military installations in Southern California.” A bipartisan report entitled Risky Business quantifies these and other climate change risks in an attempt “to push what has been a highly politicized issue into corporate boardrooms for serious consideration.” Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were just two of the prominent leaders backing the report.
Tags: Bipartisan, Bloomberg, Climate change, Corn, Hank Paulson, Property damage, Risks, Risky Business, Sea levels, Soy, U.S., Wheat, Yields
Bloomberg (December 18, 2013)
‘Many Chinese consumers underestimate the volume of GMOs in their food, and thus, the debate often lags behind actual situation in China’s kitchens and pantries.” The government is divided on GMOs, which are already pervasive in China. There is broad support from the Ministry of Agriculture and opposition from quarantine officials, who recently stopped 180,000 tons of U.S. corn from entering China. This makes “the anti-GMO justification for blocking the U.S. corn shipments so suspect.” The root cause is likely trade tension and politics.
Tags: China, Consumers, Corn, GMO, Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Politics, Quarantine, Suspect, Trade tension, U.S.
New York Times (June 24)
The price of corn has more than doubled in less than a year. Much of the blame lies with subsidies for ethanol, which now consumes 40% of the corn crop. “Washington has managed simultaneously to help drive up food prices and add tens of billions of dollars to the deficit, while arguably increasing energy use and harming the environment.”
