Drovers http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/industry/us-watchdog-review-cattle-pricing-high-speed-trading U.S. watchdog to review cattle pricing, high-speed trading By Reuters May 31, 2016 | 12:35 pm EDT A U.S. watchdog agency will launch a review of cattle pricing, including the impact of high-frequency trading on futures, after ranchers complained about a sharp price drop last year. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has…

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Get your own copy by subscribing here. A Closer Look at the Bayer-Monsanto Merger and the Seed Licensing ‘Cartel’ Bayer’s $62 billion offer to buy Monsanto is the latest in a series of proposed mega-mergers in the seed and agrochemical sectors, following ChemChina’s planned takeover of Syngenta and Dow’s…

Shadow trading hurts cattle market LAUREN DONOVAN Bismarck Tribune May 20, 2016 DICKINSON — The earthy smell of a livestock ring is perfume to cattlemen, unlike the odor of unseen money traded by guys in suits and ties a long ways from the sales barn. It’s called high-frequency trading, driven by computer programs that capture…

Fred Stokes continues his fight for independent rancher Posted May 22, 2016 at 10:04 PM Updated May 22, 2016 at 11:06 PM Share By Steve Tarter Journal Star city of Peoria reporter Fred Stokes called the other day. He wanted to let the press know that he’s still working to promote the cause of independent…

Bayer makes $62 billion bid for Monsanto The Wall Street Journal Christopher Alessi May 23, 2016 German pharmaceutical and chemicals giant Bayer AG on Monday said it made an all-cash offer to acquire Monsanto Co. for $62 billion, valuing the U.S. company at a substantial premium in a deal that would create the world’s largest…

Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, May 15, 2016 We should talk Alan Guebert With little fanfare and barely a nod of public acknowledgement, the world of food turned upside down April 13 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed a Penn State University plant pathologist that the “white button mushroom” he…

Meatpackers Cite Outdated Studies in Attack Against Senator Grassley’s Ban on Packer Ownership Legislation Billings, Mont. – According to R-CALF USA, Barry Carpenter, President and CEO of the packers’ largest international trade association, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), cited outdated studies in his attack against Senator Charles Grassley’s (R-Iowa) legislation to ban packer ownership…

The Cost of Big Ag Posted on May 12, 2016, 8:00 AM Gracy Olmstead When most Americans think about agriculture, they picture a small mom and pop farm with a few hundred acres and a small group of happy cows. Few realize that small agricultural enterprises are far from the norm today: as Leah Douglas…

Editorial, 5/13: · By the Journal Star editorial board Some agricultural commodity groups managed to slip a passage into an appropriations bill that would exempt them from the Freedom of Information Act. Members of Congress need to strip out the language before it becomes law. The commodity groups are just trying to avoid public scrutiny….

Farmers sue Monsanto over alleged Roundup cancer link · By NICHOLAS BERGIN / Lincoln Journal Star May 16, 2016 Three Nebraska farmers and an agronomist, all diagnosed with cancer, have filed a lawsuit against Monsanto alleging the seed and chemical giant of purposely misleading the public about the dangers of the world’s most widely used…