NEW YORK (AP) -- Copper prices jumped 3.2 percent Friday after a sharp improvement in the U.S. job market and higher factory orders raised hopes for stronger demand.
The move ended an erratic week of small price losses and gains for the industrial metal as investors looked for clues about what' ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 1:27 PM
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) -- Weyerhaeuser Co.'s fourth-quarter net income sank 62 percent compared to a year ago when the lumber and real estate company's results included a $119 million after-tax gain.
The performance topped Wall Street expectations. Its shares rose 63 cents, or 3.1 percent ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 8:47 AM
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP) -- Tyson Foods, the nation's biggest meat company, said its fiscal first-quarter profit fell by nearly half from last year as higher feed costs cut into the company's profit margins.
But Tyson said Friday it was able to raise prices on chicken and beef as it cut back ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 8:26 AM
BOISE -- A new study has found that reducing Idaho's foreign-born labor supply would have a significant negative economic impact.
The University of Idaho study, funded by the state's dairy industry, found that if the estimated supply of 107,000 foreign workers was decreased by 25 percent, the sta ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:00 AM
Potato farmers have a success story to tell when it comes to sustainability, a McCain Foods representative says.
Potato farms have a small carbon footprint, with the bulk of potential impacts to the environment coming after harvest, said Leigh Morrow of McCain Foods, an international processing c ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
NAPA, Calif. (AP) -- Napa Valley wine producers will go a long way to protect their good name, all the way to Thailand if necessary.
That's the latest country which has awarded Geographic Indication status to Napa wine, which means they've agreed not to allow sales of wine labeled "N ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 8:55 AM
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- The union representing locked-out employees at American Crystal Sugar. Co. plans to lobby against the federal sugar program in Congress, breaking a tradition of fighting for the program alongside farmers and the company.
John Riskey, president of the local affi ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 8:35 AM
BOISE -- Idaho Democrats have proposed an ag jobs bill that would provide producers a 50 percent income tax credit when they add some type of value to an existing crop.
The proposed tax credit would allow Idaho farmers or ranchers to receive the credit for investing in an agricultural processing ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:00 AM
Prices for nitrogen on the world market have tumbled more steeply than expected this winter as major buyers avoided stocking up on fertilizer, experts say.
"We expected the pace of buying would ease, although the seas were more still than we predicted," said Bill Doyle, president and CEO of Potas ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
A federal judge has upheld a requirement that California almonds be treated with heat or chemicals, which some growers claim unfairly favors foreign producers.
The USDA did not exceed its authority by imposing regulations that effectively banned the sale of domestically produced raw almonds, said ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 1:00 PM
Federal officials won't decide until 2015 whether the sage grouse will be listed as an endangered species, but experts say ranchers should act now.
Attorney Jessica Ferrell said listing the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act would mean there could be no "take" of the bird. That preclude ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
was unable to reach Dole Food for comment.
Trace Produce claims that its "traceability" technology allows fruit and vegetable buyers to "discover exactly where their produce originated."
The system is a "valuable marketing tool" for produce marketers that uses tracing codes to identify the grower ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:00 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under pressure from farm groups, the Labor Department has agreed to modify a plan that's intended to keep children away from some of the most dangerous farm jobs.
The proposal now will have broader exemptions for children whose parents own or operate farms, or have a substant ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:54 AM
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012 1:34 PM
Bids as of 9:30 a.m.; subject to change.
Bids for grains delivered to Portland, Ore., during February by unit trains and barges, in dollars per bushel, except oats, corn and barley, in dollars per cwt. Bids for soft white wheat are for delivery periods as specified. All other wheat and barley ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 9:44 AM
CHICAGO (AP) -- Grains futures mostly rose in early trading Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Wheat for March delivery rose 17 cents to $6.83 a bushel; March corn rose 8 cents to $6.47 a bushel; March oats were unchanged at $2.98 a bushel; while March soybeans rose 13.50 cents to $12.125 ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 8:14 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Industrial metal prices fell Tuesday because of worries that an unexpected drop in consumer confidence could mean slow demand in the U.S. economy.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell in January after two straight months of big gains. The group says Amer ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 1:22 PM
Bids as of 9:30 a.m.; subject to change.
Bids for grains delivered to Portland, Ore., during February by unit trains and barges, in dollars per bushel, except oats, corn and barley, in dollars per cwt. Bids for soft white wheat are for delivery periods as specified. All other wheat and barley ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:52 AM
SEATTLE (AP) -- The U.S. Agriculture Department has designated 15 Washington counties as primary natural disaster areas due to extreme weather conditions in the first seven months of 2011.
Sen. Maria Cantwell says farmers in those areas are eligible to apply for USDA emergency assistance.
...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:41 AM
DECATUR, Ill. (AP) -- Archer Daniels Midland's second-quarter net income tumbled 89 percent, the company said Tuesday, weighed down by hefty impairment charges and weakness in its three major segments, oilseeds, corn processing and agricultural services.
The agribusiness conglomerate posted ear ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:41 AM
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A coalition of business groups will propose Kansas start a new program to help some illegal immigrants remain in the state so they can hold down jobs in agriculture and other industries with labor shortages, coalition representatives disclosed Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for t ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:32 PM
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota city of Brookings is getting a cheese plant.
Chicago-based Bel Brands USA plans to begin construction this summer on its third cheese plant in the U.S.
Bel Brands says it will invest about $100 million in the plant. It will employ 200 people initially a ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 11:31 AM
WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (AP) -- Ten years ago, only homes in certain areas on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation had telephone service. Soon, many will have access to high-speed Internet, allowing them to access YouTube, Facebook and Netflix.
Community members and government officials gathere ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 4:11 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Most commodity prices fell Monday as signs of slower economic growth emerged in Europe. Investors worried about future global demand for oil, copper and wheat if Europe slows further or falls back into recession.
Investors waited for Greece and its bondholders to finish a deal ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 1:30 PM
A U.S. Wheat Associates manager of market development in the Middle East is retiring, to be replaced by a Pacific Northwest wheat veteran.
Regional vice president Dick Prior will retire later this year. Prior oversees development of the wheat export market in the Middle East and parts of Afric ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 12:20 PM
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Federal bankruptcy officials in Iowa want to get out of the llama business as soon as possible, even if that means selling a herd of the rare pack animals on the cheap.
Officials are asking a judge Monday to approve the quick sale of 18 llamas seized from a self ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 10:49 AM