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USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins hinted that an announcement around reopening the Mexican border to cattle imports during an upcoming Texas trip, Agri-Pulse reported.
“Closing these ports is not an easy decision, and it’s one that we’re analyzing every single day now,” she told Agri-Pulse. “We’ll be heading down to McAllen to break ground on the big sterile fly facility within the next month, and we’ll probably have a little more to talk about then.”
The report noted that Rollins told a cattle raisers convention in Texas on Saturday that the administration was considering a phased reopening of the border and that it would make a decision in the coming weeks.
Australian wheat acres to shrink?: Australian farmers are expected to favor less nitrogen-intensive crops such as barley over wheat and canola in the coming season, Reuters reported, as the surge in fertilizer and fuel costs as a result of the Iran war shapes planting decisions in one of the world’s top food-exporting countries.
Planting of wheat, canola and other crops is set to pick up steam this month across much of Australia. The report said the price of urea in Australia was quoted around A$1,350 ($928) per ton this week, up about 60% since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Australian diesel prices have surged 88% over the same period.
- “Farmers are trying to reduce fertilizer application and switching planting from nitrogen hungry crops like wheat and canola into feed barley,” Dennis Voznesenski, an agricultural analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, told Reuters. “Some are also reducing planted area, but this so far is minimal.”
Australia’s wheat planting could drop by 10% to 12% given the current conditions, from 12.4 million hectares a year ago, an unidentified broker told Reuters. Cultivation of canola could also fall.
Volatility means volume: Increased volatility across financial markets appeared to translate into increased trading volume last month and over the first quarter. CME Group on Thursday reported that its average daily volume (ADV) reached a monthly record of 41.1 million contracts in March, up 33% year-over-year, and a quarterly record of 36.2 million contracts in Q1, up 22% year-over-year. Additionally, for the first time ever, quarterly volumes reached record levels across interest rate, energy, metals, equity index, agriculture and foreign exchange products, CME Group said.
Among the March highlights:
- Agricultural ADV increased 19% to 2.2 million contracts
- Soybean futures ADV increased 33% to 323,000 contracts
- Soybean Oil futures ADV increased 85% to 273,000 contracts
- Chicago SRW Wheat futures ADV increased 30% to 169,000 contracts
For the first quarter:
- Agricultural ADV increased 4% to a record 2 million contracts
- Record Soybean Oil futures ADV of 243,000 contracts
- Soybean futures ADV increased 16% to 335,000 contracts
- Chicago SRW Wheat futures ADV increased 17% to 170,000 contracts
Russia wants a ‘grain hub’: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia and Egypt could discuss plans to create a “grain and energy hub” in the North African country, Reuters reported. Putin brought up the idea at a meeting in the Kremlin with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, saying that there were “many interesting ideas” to discuss, the report said. Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer.
In the televised part of their meeting, neither elaborated on what the “hub” proposal would involve, the report said. Reuters noted that Egypt plays an important role in handling Russian commodities and could serve as a logistics and storage point for supplies heading to Africa and the Middle East. Separate discussions at a business level have also taken place about the possible creation of a grain hub in Oman. Putin has previously talked up the idea of creating a “gas hub” in Turkey, but there has been little tangible progress, the report said.
India slashes vegoil imports: Bloomberg reports that India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, is slashing imports as the war in Iran drives up prices and triggers fuel shortages that are curbing demand across the country’s vast food-service industry.
About 40% of the country’s vegetable oil is soaked up by hotels, restaurants and caterers, the report said. A slowdown in these businesses has caused consumption to fall sharply, especially across urban and mid-sized towns, according to Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd., one of the country’s top importers. India’s vegetable oil demand is expected to drop by around 250,000 tons to 300,000 tons each month, and will shrink further if the war prolongs and LPG supply for commercial use remains restricted, he said, according to Bloomberg.
Northwest China foot-and-mouth outbreak: The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has reported outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in two herds of cattle in its northwestern province of Gansu and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to Reuters.
The report said that the government confirmed diagnosis of serotype SAT1 foot-and-mouth disease in 219 cattle in two herds of 6,229 total cattle on Saturday. The local governments in Xinjiang and Gansu implemented culling and disinfecting measures following the outbreaks, Reuters reported. Industry analysts said the outbreak marked the first time serotype SAT1 has entered China and current domestic vaccines offer no cross-protection against this strain.
Canada cattle-herd consolidation: The Canadian cattle herd has entered the consolidation phase, according to a USDA Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report published Wednesday. GAIN reports are compiled by Foreign Agricultural Service foreign service officers and staff around the world.
The report said heifer retention practices in 2025 and a slight increase to the breeding herd to begin 2026 will support a larger 2026 calf crop. Consequently, slaughter and beef production are forecast to see growth in 2026. Heifer retention and reduced cow culls will continue in 2026 in efforts towards a herd rebuild. Increased beef production and market access opportunities will see Canadian beef exports grow in 2026.
The report said Canada’s swine herd is also forecast to remain relatively stable in 2026. Slaughter is forecast to see slight growth with a slightly larger pig crop and more processing capacity utilization. Pork exports will continue to remain strong on sustained global demand.
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