Headlines:
Despite Tighter Rules, Dicamba Damages 1.1 Million Acres of Soybeans
University weed scientists estimate at least 1.2% of U.S. soybean plantings have been damaged accidentally by the weed killer dicamba despite stricter limits on its use this year, said a University of Missouri report. Damage was highest in Illinois, the No. 1 soybean-growing state, where 500,000 acres of the U.S. total of 1.1 million damaged acres are located. Arkansas was second with 300,000 damaged acres. By comparison, an estimated 2.5 million acres of soy damage were reported at this point in 2017. By the end of the season, growers had filed complaints alleging dicamba damage on 3.6 million acres of soybeans. Many crops, including fruits and vegetables, are sensitive to dicamba. Landowners ranging from vegetable farmers, gardeners, and resort operators, told DTN/Progressive Farmer of damage to their property from the herbicide with no compensation or anyone taking responsibility for it. Growers have embraced dicamba as a new tool against invasive weeds that developed a tolerance for glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide. The weedkiller is used in combination with soybeans and cotton that are genetically modified to withstand spraying with dicamba. Monsanto expected plantings of dicamba-resistant soybeans to double this year. The seed and ag chemical company said operator error was to blame in most cases of suspected dicamba damage in neighboring fields.
Brazil May Import More Pork, Other Foodstuff to Boost Farm Trade -Minister
Brazil could benefit by offering access to its domestic markets in exchange for opening new foreign markets to its farm products, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Monday, pointing to opportunities in the trade of pork and coffee. Brazil, one of the world’s largest exporters of foodstuffs including grains and meat, will soon raise quotas for pork imports from the U.S. and some European countries, Maggi said at a conference in Sao Paulo. He declined to give a specific timeline or additional details about the quotas. “You have to give something to get something,” Maggi told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. “We should not be afraid of importing anything, even stuff we produce a lot of.” Opening for further coffee imports, a measure still resisted by growers, could benefit the country as well by helping develop a stronger soluble coffee industry, Maggi said. Brazil has been hit with an European ban on certain chicken imports and a Russian embargo on its pork and beef in the past year. Maggi said Brazil exports more than $100 billion worth of foodstuffs, and that put the country in the spotlight. “As we grew our exports, we started to face attacks and trade bans,” he said in the opening speech of the Global Agribusiness Forum in São Paulo.
Summary:
US and Mexico trade negotiations are moving in a positive direction. US and Mexican officials have agreed to expedite negotiations into order to reach a preliminary NAFTA deal by the end of August. Grain markets were initially strong in overnight and early trading but when the dust settled at the closing bell Beans and Wheat ended the day lightly in the red. Corn finished the day up marginally. The 1 to 2 week outlook for the corn belt is predicting beneficial conditions for Corn development. Speculative Funds added to their net short position of Corn bringing their totals to 134k contracts. Soybean Crush prices in China have been heading south. Sunrise, a Soybean Crusher in Shandong, China was a casualty of the recent price decline. Sunrise is one of the largest Soybean importers in China and they have reportedly filed for bankruptcy. Soybean has been trading higher the last 5-6 trading days but the range of the prior 4 declining trading days significantly eclipse the range of the most recent 6 up trending trading days. This overbalance in the recent price movement suggests that Beans still lacks the needed “buy-in” for a sustained price advance.
