Global Ag News for May 19.22

TODAY

Wheat prices overnight are down 14 1/2 in SRW, down 20 1/4 in HRW, down 13 3/4 in HRS; Corn is down 6; Soybeans up 1/2; Soymeal up $0.12; Soyoil down 0.97.

For the week so far wheat prices are up 38 3/4 in SRW, up 22 1/4 in HRW, up 14 in HRS; Corn is down 5 3/4; Soybeans up 16 1/2; Soymeal up $0.59; Soyoil down 4.24.

For the month to date wheat prices are up 160 1/2 in SRW, up 198 1/2 in HRW, up 173 in HRS; Corn is down 38; Soybeans down 21 1/2; Soymeal down $17.10; Soyoil down 4.60.

Year-To-Date nearby futures are up 58% in SRW, up 63% in HRW, up 36% in HRS; Corn is up 31%; Soybeans up 25%; Soymeal up 1%; Soyoil up 41%.

Chinese Ag futures (SEP 22) Soybeans down 8 yuan; Soymeal down 14; Soyoil down 66; Palm oil down 48; Corn down 8 — Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were down 60 ringgit (-0.98%) at 6074.

There were changes in registrations (-26 Corn). Registration total: 1,010 SRW Wheat contracts; 23 Oats; 0 Corn; 0 Soybeans; 98 Soyoil; 6 Soymeal; 150 HRW Wheat.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of May 18 were: SRW Wheat up 943 contracts, HRW Wheat up 264, Corn down 4,500, Soybeans up 5,751, Soymeal up 1,804, Soyoil down 2,298.

Northern Plains Forecast: Scattered showers Thursday-Friday. Mostly dry Saturday-Sunday. Temperatures near to below normal Thursday, below to well below normal Friday-Sunday. Outlook: Isolated to scattered showers Monday-Friday. Temperatures below normal Monday-Tuesday, near to below normal Wednesday-Friday.

Central/Southern Plains Forecast: Periods of isolated to scattered showers through Saturday. Mostly dry Sunday. Temperatures above to well above normal Thursday, below normal northwest and above normal southeast Friday, near to well below normal Saturday-Sunday. Outlook: Isolated showers Monday-Friday. Temperatures near to below normal Monday-Wednesday, near to above normal Thursday-Friday.

Western Midwest Forecast: Isolated to scattered showers through Saturday. Mostly dry Sunday. Temperatures above normal Thursday, below normal northwest and above normal southeast Friday, below to well below normal Saturday-Sunday.

Eastern Midwest Forecast: Isolated to scattered showers Tuesday night through Saturday. Mostly dry Sunday. Temperatures above normal Thursday-Saturday, near to below normal Sunday. Outlook: Mostly dry Monday. Isolated to scattered showers Tuesday-Wednesday. Mostly dry Thursday-Friday. Temperatures near to below normal Monday-Tuesday, near to above normal Wednesday-Friday.

Canadian Prairies Forecast:  Scattered showers Thursday-Friday. Some snow in Manitoba. Temperatures below to well below normal Thursday-Friday. Mostly dry Saturday-Sunday. Isolated showers Monday-Wednesday. Temperatures below to well below normal Saturday-Sunday, near to below normal Monday-Wednesday.

The player sheet for 5/18 had funds: net sellers of 15,000 contracts of  SRW wheat, sellers of 20,500 corn, sellers of 8,000 soybeans, buyers of 1,500 soymeal, and  sellers of 6,500 soyoil.

TENDERS

• CORN SALE: Taiwan’s MFIG purchasing group bought about 55,000 tonnes of animal feed corn to expected to be sourced from South Africa in an international tender which closed on Wednesday, European traders said.
• SOYBEAN SALE: The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 10,200 tonnes of U.S. soybeans for shipment to unknown destinations in the 2021/22 marketing year and 219,000 tonnes for 2022/23.
• CORN TENDER: Turkey’s state grain board TMO has issued an international tender to purchase and import a total of 175,000 tonnes of animal feed corn
• CORN TENDER: South Korean feedmaker Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) has issued an international tender to purchase up to 138,000 tonnes of animal feed corn
• WHEAT SALE: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) bought a total of 174,744 tonnes of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in regular tenders that closed on Thursday.
• BARLEY SALE: Japan will import 440 tonnes of feed-quality barley for livestock use via a simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) auction that closed late on Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said. The ministry had sought 70,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 40,000 tonnes of feed barley to be loaded by Aug. 31 and arrive in Japan by Oct. 27.
• FAILED BARLEY TENDER: Jordan’s state grain buyer is believed to have made no purchase in an international tender for 120,000 tonnes of animal feed barley which closed on Wednesday.

PENDING TENDERS

• RICE TENDER: Egypt’s state grains buyer the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) is seeking at least 25,000 tonnes of white rice in a tender-practice on the account of the Holding Company for Food Industries. GASC set the arrival date for July 1-31 and Aug. 1-31. Offers should be submitted on May 19.
• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued an international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat
• WHEAT TENDER: A government agency in Pakistan has issued an international tender to purchase and import 500,000 tonnes of wheat
• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued an international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat

DOE: U.S. Ethanol Stocks Fall 1.4% to 23.791M Bbl

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s weekly petroleum report.

• Analysts were expecting 24.063 mln bbl
• Plant production at 0.991m b/d, compared to survey avg of 0.995m

Indonesia Lifts Palm Oil Export Ban in Relief to Global Market

• Shipments were halted since April 28 to ensure domestic supply
• Move was one of the most dramatic cases of food protectionism

Indonesia, the world’s biggest shipper of edible oils, lifted a ban on palm oil exports in a move that will bring relief to the global market after the war in Ukraine choked off critical supplies.

Exports of crude palm oil and other refined products including palm olein and used cooking oil can resume from May 23, President Joko Widodo said in an online briefing on Thursday.

Indonesia’s ban, which was imposed since April 28, was one of the biggest acts of crop protectionism since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which stymied exports of sunflower oil and worsened a global shortage. Palm oil is used in everything from food to soap to fuel, and the move by Indonesia threatened to push up costs even more across multiple supply chains at a time of rampant inflation.

The government has struggled to control prices and secure local supplies since December, with a raft of measures ranging from price caps, to export curbs and cash handouts for households and hawkers. But all that failed to pull down prices to the government target of 14,000 rupiah (97 U.S. cents) per liter of bulk oil. The surging costs helped push inflation to a three-year high in April.

Indonesia’s ban was widely anticipated to be short-lived. Gro Intelligence, an agricultural analysis firm, said that the government could be forced to relax the move by the fourth week of May to keep storage tanks from overflowing. An industry group also forecast that the policy would end this month.

U.N. chief hopeful about talks on Ukraine, Russia grain and fertilizer exports

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to try and restore Ukrainian grain shipments and revive Russian fertilizer exports.

“I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go,” he told a food security meeting at the United Nations hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides.”

CROP TOUR: Wheat in West Central Kansas Seen Sharply Lower Y/y

Hard red winter wheat yield potential is seen at avg. of 34.6 bu/acre along a route in west central Kansas, according to samples from 14 fields during second day of Wheat Quality Council’s crop tour.

• NOTE: A year ago, day 2 est. for same region was 56.7 bu/acre; five year-avg. is 42.7 bu/acre, according to tour data
• Signs of drought stress were present in almost all fields sampled, but some performed better than others given spring snow and recent May rains
• NOTE: Scouts across the state will come up with an estimate for all of Kansas, the top US producer, later on Wednesday; final yield projection to be disclosed midday Thursday

CROP TOUR: Kansas Wheat Yield Estimate Falls on Drought Damage

Kansas hard red winter wheat yields are estimated at an avg 37 bu/acre, according to data collected from 254 fields on the second day of the Wheat Quality Council’s annual crop tour.

• That’s down from year-earlier est. of 56.7 bu/acre, based on 164 stops, tour data show
• Scouts saw extremely dry fields in western Kansas, with soil moisture significantly low in some areas
• Still, recent rains aided some wheat and showers are forecast in parts of the state over the next few days
• “We saw some fields that received welcomed rains yesterday and they should improve,” said crop scout Romulo Lollato, wheat specialist at Kansas State University

EPA Chief Weighs Biofuel Moves Amid Gasoline Price ‘Burden’

EPA Administrator Michael Regan says he’s sensitive to concerns about high gasoline prices as he makes decisions about the federal renewable fuel mandate.

• “I’m trying to stay on the right side of the law” while also “being sensitive to the prices that we’re facing now and how we can do that to the alleviate the burdens of just average, everyday people,” Regan tells a Senate appropriations subcommittee Wednesday
• Upcoming decisions on annual biofuel-blending requirements and refinery exemptions from them are aimed at “getting that program on a much stronger footing” and aren’t being made in isolation
  • EPA seeking to provide certainty to both the agricultural and refining industries
  • “With the prices we’re looking at now and some of the pressure that refiners are facing, this war doesn’t help,” Regan says
• Republican Senator Bill Hagerty warned Regan of significant “economic implications on the American consumer” if more refineries are denied exemptions since that “puts upward pressure on prices”
• NOTE: EPA is set within weeks to finalize biofuel-blending quotas for 2022 and 2021 while also retroactively revising 2020 requirements
  • The agency also has proposed denying more than 60 pending refinery exemptions from 2019, 2020 and 2021 biofuel-blending quotas, after already rescinding 31 previously granted waivers from 2018 requirements

China to Accept Canada Canola Shipments After Three-Year Feud

China has reinstated access to its market for two Canadian agriculture companies, Trade Minister Mary Ng said Wednesday in a statement.

• The move means Richardson International and Viterra Inc. can export canola seed, according to the Canola Council of Canada
  • “This is a positive step forward,” Jim Everson, Canola Council of Canada president, says in a statement
• In March 2019, China suspended two Canadian companies, alleging the detection of quarantine pests in canola shipments
  • Move was widely interpreted as retaliation over the arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive in Vancouver in late 2018

Crop Price ‘Reset’ Unlikely Until 2H 2023 at Earliest: Andersons

A “reset” of surging grain prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unlikely until autumn harvest of 2023, says Bill Krueger, president of The Andersons’ trade and processing group.

• A more likely time-frame may be latter part of 2024, when agriculture supply chains disrupted by war could be replenished, assuming adequate production in the Americas, he says at BMO Farm to Market Conference in N.Y.
• Grain traders like Andersons tend to gain during times of market volatility and supply chain dislocations: Andersons CFO Brian Valentine
• Separately, Andersons expects to achieve and exceed its goal of increasing overall trading volume by 10% through servicing Middle East/Africa with grains and soybeans, executives say
• Also sees substantial growth over next couple years at co.’s renewable diesel feedstock business, which currently accounts for about 7.5% of low carbon intensity renewable diesel feedstock supply

Manitoba Crop-Planting Progress Lags Because of Heavy Rainfall

About 4% of crops planted as of May 17, trailing the five-year average of 50%, the province’s agriculture ministry says in a report.

• Pockets of central and southwest regions are further ahead, while other areas and the Red River Valley “remain underwater”
  • Heavy rains previous week slowed planting efforts leaving fields damp to saturated
  • Parts of western Manitoba received as much as 70 millimeters (2.7 inches)
• “Farmers are extremely concerned about seeding delays, leading some farmers to switch planned corn or soybean acres into canola and spring wheat”
• Weather forecasts “remain unfavorable” and farmers are using “whatever strategy they can to dry soil” and pick driest fields to plant

Ukraine’s Grain Exports Down 64% Y/Y in May So Far: Ministry

Ukraine’s grain exports totaled 643,000 tons so far this month, according to Agriculture Ministry’s data published on its website.

• Total includes:
  • 16,000 tons of wheat
  • 8,000 tons of barley
  • 617,000 tons of corn
• NOTE: In May 2021 Ukraine exported 1.8m tons of grains
• NOTE: So far Ukraine’s grain exports have reached 46.5m tons in 2021/22 marketing year that ends in June, compared with 40.9m tons in a whole 2020/21 year

Indonesia’s March Palm Oil Reserves Rise, Export Drop: Gapki

Palm oil reserves rose 12.5% to 5.68 million tons in March from 5.05 million tons in previous month, according to Indonesian palm oil association, known as Gapki.

• Palm oil production rose 8.2% m/m to 4.15m tons on seasonal factors, Gapki says in Thursday statement
• Exports fell 3.8% m/m to 2.02m tons; -37.6% y/y
  • Exports include 59,000 tons of CPO, 1.55m tons of processed CPO, and 342,000 tons of oleo chemicals
  • Shipments to Russia dropped most by 50% in March, while to Malaysia -41% and the Netherlands -33%
• Indonesia’s palm oil consumption rises 9.4% m/m to 1.51m tons
  • Food-related consumption jumped almost 30% m/m to 635,000 tons
  • Consumption in biodiesel industry was 697,000 tons vs 710,000 tons in previous month
• Additional Jan.-March figures:
  • Output +9.5% y/y to 12.21m tons
  • Exports -22.9% y/y to 6.3m tons
  • Consumption -2.3% y/y to 4.38m tons

Malaysia’s April  exports rise 20.7%, above forecast

Malaysia’s exports in April rose 20.7% from a year earlier, above forecast, government data showed on Thursday.​

April’s exports were expected to rise 19.7%, according to 13 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll.

Imports in April grew 22% from a year earlier, the data showed. Analysts were expecting a 22% rise, according to 13 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll.

Malaysia’s trade surplus in April was 23.5 billion ringgit. Analysts had forecast a surplus of 22.7 billion ringgit.

Malaysia Scraps Approved Permits for Some Food Imports

Malaysia removed the approved permit requirements for imports of some food items, effective immediately, as part of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s plan to ensure adequate supplies in the country.

• APs have been done away with for imports of chicken, cabbage, coconut and evaporated milk, while permits will still be needed for rice purchases, according to a statement Thursday from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries
• While APs have been scrapped, import permits are still required for biosecurity control and to ensure the imported foods are free from diseases and pests: statement

German Winter-Wheat Area Slightly Higher Y/y: Destatis

Plantings of winter-wheat in Germany are estimated at 2.89m hectares for the 2022 season, up 0.6% y/y, according to a statement from its federal statistics office.

• Winter-barley plantings down 1.4% to 1.22m hectares
• Spring-wheat plantings up 74% to 53.1k hectares
• Spring-barley plantings up 20% to 358.5k hectares
  • High prices due to the war in Ukraine is likely one of the reasons for the increase in spring-grain plantings
  • Winter varieties were sown in autumn, before Russia invaded
• Area of corn, excluding silage, seen up 2.4% to 441.2k hectares
• Rapeseed plantings up 7.9% to 1.08m hectares
• NOTE: Results based on data as of mid-April, final figures are will be published in July

Canada Crop Land ‘Deteriorating’ as Excess Rain Hinders Planting

• Manitoba too wet to plant while Alberta struggles with drought
• Planting woes come as weather, war threaten global output

Farmers in parts of Canada’s Prairies are struggling to get crops in the ground as heavy rains continue to wallop the eastern region in the latest threat to global grain supplies.

Virtually no seeding has been done in Manitoba as more than 90% of the crop land is suffering from excess moisture, said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Only 4% of the province’s crops have been sown as of May 17, lagging the five-year average of 50%. Farmers are scrambling to look for dry areas to plant as they swap acres of corn and soybeans for wheat and canola, which are crops that have shorter seasons, according to Manitoba’s agriculture ministry.

Another storm system is poised to dump more rain on the region this week.

“Conditions are deteriorating,” Hadwen said by phone. “It’s certainly not improving, which is a great concern.”

Meanwhile, drought is expanding in parts of Alberta, a major growing area for spring wheat, barley and durum, Hadwen said. In Saskatchewan, some areas are too wet for seeding while others are too dry for proper germination, according to the province’s agriculture ministry.

Canada is the top canola exporter and one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. The nation’s planting woes come as weather is also threatening to curb output in the European Union and the US, compounding shrinking production from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s vital breadbaskets.

Dryness for French Wheat, Summer Risks for US Corn Belt: Maxar

Dryness has increased significantly in Europe in recent weeks, with the most extreme conditions in northern and central France, Maxar meteorologist Kyle Tapley said at the GrainCom conference in Geneva.

• Improvements are possible for crop areas in the UK, northern Germany and Poland in the next 15 days, while heat and dryness remain worries for French wheat
• “France is where I’m most concerned in Europe as far as weather for the winter-crops”
• In the US, wet weather could return in the Corn Belt over the next 15 days, slowing the planting pace for corn and soy after recent progress
• For summer weather in June to August, unfavorable conditions expected in the western Corn Belt, with above-normal temperatures and below-normal rains
• Conditions seen closer to normal in the east
• “It’s certainly not an ideal outlook. We’re expecting not the most favorable outlook for the US growing season this year”

Corteva CEO Says Crop Prices Prompt Farmers to Plant Corn

Farmers are seeing “strong incentive” to plant corn due to high prices, Corteva CEO Chuck Magro says Wednesday at agricultural conference in New York.

• Corteva sees US corn, soy planting at about 90m acres each
• Seed inventories could be low heading into 2023, Magro says

Farmers Are Buying Up Expensive Weedkiller Even As Costs Soar

Growers are worried about supplies for yield-maximizing chemicals like herbicides and pesticides

Farmers are still buying weedkillers and insecticides to ensure plentiful harvests despite soaring costs for such chemicals, according to manufacturer FMC Corp.

Prices have been rising as the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other supply chain issues have tightened the market. But farmers are also fetching the best prices in years for their crops, so demand for chemicals is “very strong,” FMC’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Douglas said.

“They have the need to make sure they’re maximizing their yields, because that’s where the real value is going to come from,” Douglas said in an interview Wednesday.

The industry is, however, seeing growers in the US, Latin America and Europe unable to get the products they need, Douglas said. That’s contributing to inflating prices.

FMC is interested in mergers and acquisitions, particularly for companies making biologicals, which is a technology that uses microbes as alternatives to traditional crop chemicals. As disruptions occur in the industry, demand for such products will probably rise, he said.

Agroconsult cuts estimate for Brazil’s 2021/22 second corn crop to 87.6 mln tns

Brazil’s second corn crop is expected to reach 87.6 million tonnes in the 2021/2022 cycle, down from a previous 92.2 million-tonne forecast, a pre-crop tour estimate from agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult showed on Wednesday.

Continued delays in planting lower U.S. corn production amid volatile weather – Refinitiv Commodities Research

In spite of a critical catch-up in planting pace, updated mid- and long-term weather forecasts fractionally reduce 2022/23 U.S. corn production to 14.5 [13.7–15.2] billion bushels. In May’s WASDE (12 May), USDA placed U.S. corn production at 367.3 million tons, slightly below our median projection. Our current estimate puts planted area at 90.6 million acres, down 3% from last season, which is 1.1 million acres above the USDA March Prospective Plantings report figure of 89.5 million acres (31 March). A recently released Reuters Poll of Analysts (25 March) placed U.S. corn crop area at 92.0 [89.7–93.5] million acres. The next USDA survey-based estimate of acreage will be released in the 30 June Acreage report.

The past two weeks brought mostly high temperatures and mixed rainfall throughout most of the Plains and Upper Midwest. Favorable planting conditions prevailed across the Corn Belt as a result, with warm temperatures (up to 3-5°F above normal) and dry weather (0.5-1 inches below normal) dominating the central Midwest and areas to the west. The latest Crop Progress report of the season (16 May) estimated national-level sowings at 49%, a whopping 27% jump from last week, though still well behind last year’s 78% and the five-year average of 67%. While most key producing regions of the central/eastern Corn Belt, including the “I” states (i.e. Illinois, Iowa and Indiana), have seen a huge catch-up over the past two weeks, some of the Northern crop areas continue to suffer from severe delays (most notably the Dakotas, where plantings are 23-35% behind schedule), warranting close attention.

The latest EC/GFS model outlook suggests more mixed and volatile weather in store. Besides pockets of dryness in the western and northern parts of the Corn Belt, most of the Upper Midwest will likely receive near to above-average rainfall totals, with the wettest conditions centered around Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. This pattern might locally cause some lingering delays in planting. Weather into early June will be critical, and if conditions continue to lean towards wetness, further drops in potential yield may be expected.

Favorable harvest weather conditions bode well for Argentina corn production – Refinitiv Commodities Research

2021/22 Argentina corn production is fractionally raised to 50.1 [48.4–53.0] million tons, reflecting rapid/stable harvest progress and favorable late season weather conditions. Our current estimate puts planted area at 7.3 million hectares, in line with the Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires’ latest national-level projection. In May’s WASDE (12 May), USDA placed Argentina corn production at 53 million tons, unchanged from last update. Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires and Bolsa de Comercio in Rosario currently forecast production at 49 and 49.2 million tons, respectively. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of 12 May, corn harvest was 41% complete nationally, well ahead of last year’s 36%. Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires, however, reported progress of only 25.8%, warranting attention. Looking ahead, both GFS and EC weather models indicate that most of the main Pampas region will likely receive below average precipitation over the next 5-10 days (albeit the exact totals are variable in recent runs), which should bode well for harvest activities.

Argentina soybean production slightly up as harvest proceeds steadily – Refinitiv Commodities Research

2021/22 Argentina soybean production is fractionally raised to 42.8 [40.3–44.9] million tons, reflecting rapid/stable harvest progress and favorable late season weather conditions. Our current estimate puts planted area at 16.3 million hectares, in line with the Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires’ latest national-level projection, but slightly above 16.1 million hectares reported by Bolsa de Comercio in Rosario. In May’s WASDE (12 May), USDA placed Argentina soybean production at 42 million tons, down from its previous estimate of 43.5 million tons. Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires and Bolsa de Comercio in Rosario currently forecast production at 42 and 41.2 million tons, respectively. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of 12 May, soybean harvest was 76% complete nationally, well ahead of last year’s 67%. Bolsa de Cereales in Buenos Aires also reported progress of 64.9%, largely in line with last year’s pace. Looking ahead, both GFS and EC weather models indicate that most of the main Pampas region will likely receive below average precipitation over the next 5-10 days (albeit the exact totals are variable in recent runs), which should bode well for harvest activities.

Fertilizer Application Ramps Up, But Delays Pressure Prices

US urea, phosphate and potash prices remain pressured due to a delayed spring season, which finally took off with better weather enabling the start of heavy applications. The late start may shorten the application window for ammonia. India tendered for 1.7 million tons of urea and its entrance marks a likely 2Q floor price.

Fertilizer Price Weakness Persists

Most fertilizer prices were under pressure at midweek. New Orleans (NOLA) urea trades were $15 a short ton (st) below the prior week’s low, while international transactions suggested a possible drop of $300-$400 a metric ton (mt) in the upcoming June Tampa contract. Urea prices awarded in India’s latest tender were $716.50-$721.30/mt, down nearly $29 from the high end of the last tender. Ammonium sulfate, phosphate and potash prices were also slipping at NOLA and inland, as earlier weather delays and resistance to higher retail prices cut into spring volume. Brazil phosphate prices were on a downward trend as well, amid aggressive offers of product from China.

Green Plains Teams With Top Trout Producer on Feed Ingredients

Green Plains is teaming up with a leading trout producer to expand production of commercial fish feed.

• The venture with closely held Riverence Group is expected to start next year; it will make trout and salmon feeds, including from a 60%+ fermented protein product recently achieved by Green Plains, according to company statement
• The partnership is part of Green Plains’ goal to “liberate more out of that kernel of corn” and make high-quality proteins for aquaculture, pet food and other industries, Green Plains CEO Todd Becker says in interview with Bloomberg TV Wednesday
• NOTE: Riverence is part of a group that is the largest producer of trout in the Americas: statement

Nutrien eyes U.S. ammonia plant with low carbon emissions

Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd intends to build a $2 billion U.S. plant to produce ammonia with low carbon emissions, it said on Wednesday, in the sector’s latest move to meet rising global demand for clean energy.

The company is evaluating a site in Louisiana for the plant, which could produce 1.2 million metric tonnes a year and capture at least 90% of carbon emissions, Nutrien said in a statement.

Nutrien signed a letter of intent with Mitsubishi Corporation 8058.T for offtake of up to 40% of the expected production to deliver to the Asian fuel market, including Japan, the statement said.

Another fertilizer producer, CF Industries Holdings, recently announced plans with Mitsui & Co to build a roughly $2 billion U.S. plant to produce low-carbon ammonia for fuel.

Heat Waves Seen at Some Places of India’s Northwest, IMD Says

Maximum temperatures may rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius in some areas of India’s northwest and the central state of Madhya Pradesh during the next 3 days, according to the India meteorological Department.

• The mercury is seen falling by 2-4 degrees Celsius thereafter, the weather department said in a statement
  • No significant change in maximum temperatures likely over the rest of the country
  • India recorded highest temperature of 46.2 degrees Celsius at Banda in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday
  • NOTE: The weather office defines a heat wave when maximum temperatures reach or exceed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • NOTE: Heat waves could hamper wheat harvesting in northern states
• Conditions are favorable for further advance of the southwest monsoon into more parts of Bay of Bengal and South Arabian Sea in next 2 days
  • Heavy rains expected at some places of Kerala and Karnataka on Thursday
  • Showers likely in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand for five days from Thursday

Tallgrass to Capture Emissions at ADM Corn Plant in Nebraska

Tallgrass has an agreement to capture carbon dioxide from Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.’s corn processing complex in Columbus, Nebraska, according to a Wednesday release.

• Emissions will be transported to Tallgrass’ Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub for permanent underground storage utilizing an existing natural gas pipeline that’s being converted to transport CO2
• Move enables ADM to further decarbonize operations