Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures topped $8 a bushel and reached their highest price in nearly a decade on Monday on concerns over unfavorable U.S. crop weather and the Ukraine war disrupting grain exports.
Livestock farmers, including those who previously paid to have animal waste removed, have found a fertile side business selling to grain farmers. Equipment firms that make manure spreading equipment are also benefiting.
Ukrainian farmers had sown about 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) with various spring crops by Thursday, or a tenth more than by the same date last year, despite the Russian invasion, said deputy ag minister.
A labor dispute that shut down operations at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on Sunday is set to aggravate a shortage of commodities, and a prolonged lockdown could hurt farmers ahead of the spring planting season.
Oil prices soared to their highest since 2008 due to delays of Iranian nuclear talks and the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets, which are already suffering from Russian supply disruptions.
Hundreds of trucks, recreational vehicles and cars were circling the outskirts of Washington on Sunday, threatening to cause traffic backups around the capital as part of a protest against pandemic restrictions.
Russia’s trade and industry ministry has recommended the country’s fertilizer producers temporarily halt exports, the ministry said Friday, in a sign that sanctions imposed could have a global impact.
