USA – winter wheat plantings at lowest level in over a century

Recent data from the US department of agriculture (USDA) show winter wheat plantings on US farms were at their lowest level in over a century. US grain farmers have planted just over 32m acres in winter wheat this season, which is almost 4m acres less than last year.

Australia – milk production set to fall more than 8% this season

Australian milk production is on course to plunge more than 8% this milking season, despite the recovery in milk prices. In the first four months of Australia’s milking season to the end of October, milk production from dairy farms was down a cumulative 10% to less than 3.2bn litres.

Uruguay – record soyabean crops forecasted this year

This season’s soya bean crop in Uruguay, which is South America’s fourth-largest soya bean exporter, is on track to reach a record 3.5m tonnes. Uruguay’s agriculture ministry has said soya bean plantings in the country are between 1.1m and 1.3m hectares, with crops receiving favourable weather during the growing season.

France – beef exports cleared to the US

The USDA has cleared the way for French beef exports to the US to resume for the first time since 1998. France, which is Europe’s largest beef producer, is likely to send only small volumes for export to the US, similar to Ireland. Irish beef exports to the US were just over 1,500t to October 2016.