Author: Michael Hirtzer

NanoGraf, a startup specializing in high-performance batteries made using silicon, is close to starting operations at a facility near Chicago’s central business district.

Barge operators are running lighter loads on the Mississippi River to compensate for the lack of water from months of dry weather. Prices paid to farmers for their crops are easing as a result.

Deere & Co. lifted its financial outlook for the year as machinery demand from farmers remained robust despite slumping crop prices.

Commodity superpower Cargill Inc. is starting to pay American farmers to adopt growing practices that boost soil health and trap carbon.

Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat company, reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings and raised its sales forecast as beef markets strengthen and the company increases prices to pass through higher costs.

Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s biggest pork producer, is willing to share space in its ultra-low-temperature freezers to store COVID-19 vaccines, the company said Dec. 3 in an emailed statement.

China’s move to test imported meat for the novel coronavirus is threatening to derail trade with the world’s largest pork consumer, hurting American farmers who had seen shipments boom.

While China announced it has halted imports of American soybeans, a mysterious buyer has stepped up. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Aug. 7 a sale of 165,000 metric tons of the oilseed to “unknown destinations.”

After a cold, soggy start to the season, it’s finally feeling like summer in the Midwest, and corn fields are recovering. A turn toward warmer weather should be beneficial for the battered crop, and government data signal that conditions are starting to bottom out.

A looming shortfall in U.S. corn production after a historical spat of wet weather means wheat is back on the menu at cattle feedlots in the southern Plains.