Ag in the News

12/17/2007

National and International

Senate passes farm bill, moves to conference under veto threat
The Senate on Friday voted 79-14 to pass a version of the 2007 farm bill the White House has already threatened to veto, sending the legislation to the House-Senate conference committee to hash out differences and agree a bill that the White House will sign. MORE!

Exclusive: Survey suggests fraying consumer confidence in meat safety
An exclusive survey conducted by Meatingplace and its sister publication POULTRY revealed consumers are beginning to question the safety of the U.S. meat supply. MORE!

BSE in Japan may be linked to milk: report
Some of the animals in Japan infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy may have contracted the disease from alternative milk containing Dutch-made fat, according to an investigation by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kyodo News Service reported. MORE!

First human case of H5N1 bird flu confirmed in Myanmar
A 7-year-old girl is Myanmar's first human case of the potentially deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the World Health Organization confirmed. MORE!

Safeway plans to sell organic line to foodservice, abroad
Supermarket giant Safeway announced last week it plans to extend its "O Organics" line of products, introduced in 2006, outside its network of stores for the first time. MORE!

Good Times to open 25 Midwest locations
Golden, Colo.-based Good Times Restaurants announced that it will expand its burger and frozen custard chain, Good Times Drive Thru, with up to 25 locations across the Midwest. MORE!

Wrap Up

Strong start to week overnight. Corn futures were mostly around 2 cents higher while soybeans were mostly 6 to 9 cents higher in overnight trade. Chicago wheat closed widely mixed, with old-crop contracts sharply higher and new-crop contracts sharply lower.

Senate clears farm bill. Now what? The key House-Senate conference process lies ahead for the next version of U.S. farm law. And there's still going to be plenty for lawmakers to do to iron out the differences between the two versions. Jim Wiesemeyer has several dispatches looking at details and putting perspective on last week's Senate action.

China export subsidies. Reports out of China this morning indicate the country is going to remove export tax rebates (subsidies) on several commodities as it continues to try and control food price inflation. China said the action would apply to wheat, rice, soybeans, corn, barley and oats, as well as flour milled from these grains, starting Dec. 20.

Argentine damage. Lots of attention has been focused on the November frost/freeze events in Argentina as markets try to get an idea of the damage done. The Argentine government says it is still working on assessing the damage, although in some locations they say losses are 20%. .