Reuters | BHP Billiton sees potash as an ideal fit within its portfolio of
commodity products, and the global mining giant is focused on developing
its potash projects in Western Canada into a world-class basin play, a
top executive said on Tuesday.
Filed under: Agriculture/Farming
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BHP sees potash as ideal fit for portfolio
ADM lobbies for more ethanol blends
Dow Jones Newswires | Archer Daniels Midland Co. is lobbying
U.S. regulators to allow more ethanol to blended with gasoline for use
in all cars, countering an effort that would boost the corn-based
additive in a limited number of vehicle model years.
High fructose corn syrup sales down 11%
A tanker truck carries corn syrup at the Archer Daniels Midland Company plant in Decatur, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
Associated Press | Fans of natural foods have tried for years to
push the ubiquitous sweetener high fructose corn syrup off Americans’ dinner tables and out of their restaurants and grocery stores. It seems to be working.
U.S. use of the sweetener found in most soft drinks, cereals and a range of other products dropped 11 percent between 2003 and 2008, the most recent year figures were available. A number of companies also have stopped using corn syrup in some or all products, including Hunt’s ketchup, Snapple, Gatorade and Starbucks’ baked goods.
Deere reports 2Q profit up 16%, raises outlook
Associated Press | Deere says its second-quarter profit jumped
16 percent as sales of farm and construction equipment improved and is
raising its outlook for the second time this year.
The Moline.-based company says it generated $547.5 million in net
income, or $1.28 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from net income
of $472.3 million, or $1.11 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a
charge related to health care legislation, profit was $1.58 per share.
CF Industries swings to loss on Terra deal
Dow Jones Newswires | CF Industries Holdings Inc. swung to a
first-quarter loss on charges related to its recent acquisition of
rival fertilizer maker Terra as CF said revenue fell.
The company has suffered from weak demand since the economic downturn.
But CF saw demand slowly come back in the fourth quarter as stronger
buying interest returned and prices rose sequentially. The company on
Friday expressed optimism about the spring planting season, as U.S.
corn acreage planting increased.
ADM Q1 profit spikes on biofuels demand
Assocaited Press | Archer Daniels Midland Co. says its first-quarter profit soared to more to $421 million from just $3 million in the same period last year, as global demand for biofuels boosted the company’s corn processing business. The Decatur-based company reported Tuesday it earned 65 cents per share, compared with 0 cents per share last year.
Grain markets nervous as Gulf oil slick spreads
From Reuters | Grain and soybean futures on the Chicago Board of
Trade closed
lower on Monday, largely due to a rising U.S. dollar. U.S. grain markets are nervous that
an expanding oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico may choke off exports
of corn, soybeans and wheat.
Get the full story: reuters.com.
Potash sees near-record first-quarter earnings
Dow Jones Newswires | Significantly improved fertilizer demand after an unprecendented decline in 2009 pushed Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan’s earnings to near-record levels for the first quarter and led to a slight upward revision to its 2010 earnings outlook.
The Saskatoon, Sask.-based fertilizer giant earned $449 or $1.47 a share in the latest quarter. The results are the second-highest first-quarter earnings in the company’s history and fall near the top end of its most recent guidance for earnings of $1.30-$1.50 a share. Potash Corp. boosted its first-quarter outlook in March on the back of a sharp rebound in potash demand.
Senate panel approves tougher derivatives rules
Associated Press | A Senate panel approved legislation Wednesday
that would limit the ability of Wall Street banks to trade complex
financial tools called derivatives. The bill offered by Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., would also
improve transparency of most derivative trades.
The legislation was approved on a 13-8 vote. Sen. Charles Grassley,
R-Iowa, joined the panel’s 12 Democrats in supporting the measure. His
defection suggests some Republicans may break party ranks and support
the Obama administration’s financial regulatory reform effort.
Midwest bankers see promise in ag industry
Associated Press | A survey of rural bankers in 10 Midwest and
Plains states showed signs of promise amid prolonged financial weakness
in the agriculture industry. The overall index for the Rural Mainstreet
economic report fell to 44.2 in April from 47.4 in March. The April
2009 index was 21.7. The index ranges between 0 and 100. A score below
50 suggests the economy will contract in the next few months; above 50
indicates the economy will expand.
CF Industries to complete Terra acquisition
Tribune staff report | CF Industries Holdings Inc. said it has successfully completed its exchange offer for Terra Industries Inc. common stock and will complete the acquisition of Terra today.
85.6% of Terra shares tendered to CF Industries
Tribune staff report | CF Industries Holdings Inc. said it has
successfully completed its initial exchange offer for all of the
outstanding shares of Terra Industries Inc. common stock.
As
of midnight, the expiration time, 85,757,343 shares of Terra common
stock were validly tendered and not withdrawn, representing
approximately 85.6 percent, of the outstanding shares of Terra common
stock. With CF Industries’ 85.6 percent ownership of Terra, today
effectively marks
the first day that CF Industries and Terra are a combined company, CF
Industries said.
Strawberry prices drop as late harvest hits market
Rotting strawberries on a plant next to ripe ones and new growth in a field Friday. Prices are unusually low in many places because cold weather delayed Florida’s harvest to coincide with California’s, and the two states are flooding the market with cheap berries. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Associated Press | It’s a good spring for strawberry lovers:
Prices are unusually low in many places because cold weather delayed
Florida’s harvest to coincide with California’s, and the two states are
flooding the market with cheap berries.
A record number of strawberries for this time of the year were picked
in the U.S. last week — 80 million pounds, said Gloria Chillon,
director of marketing for Driscoll’s, a major berry producer and
distributor based in Watsonville, Calif.
Canadian regulators pass on CF Industries, Terra
Associated Press | CF Industries said Canadian regulators do not intend to challenge its $4.7 billion takeover of Terra Industries. The deal would create one of the world’s biggest fertilizer companies.
Get the full story: businessweek.com.
US: Soybean crop will hit record high in 2010
Soybeans being harvested in Argentina, March 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Diego Giudice)
Associated Press | U.S. farmers will plant a record soybean crop this year while also boosting corn acres by 3 percent, according to an Agriculture Department estimate. The increases could boost year-end reserves of the major food crops and ease fears of food shortages after high demand from the ethanol industry and overseas consumers drew down supplies two years ago.
Crop futures fell Wednesday morning on the Chicago Board of Trade after the USDA estimate was released. Soybeans for May delivery fell 38 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $9.36 a bushel, and corn was down 8.5 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $3.46 a bushel. Wheat fell 10.5 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $4.615 a bushel.
