Agricultural Shorts

FarmPolicy@FarmPolicy reported China’s state-owned food company, COFCO, plans to more than double the crushing capacity at its soybean processing plant in Brazil . . . The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced last week it will kick off the first of three negotiating rounds with Mexico over changes to the United States, Mexico, Canada trade agreement (USMCA). No word was made of negotiations with Canada . . . Successful Farming reported Argentina will phase-in a reduction of its export taxes on soybeans, soybean oil, wheat, and corn on a monthly basis through 2028 . . . Cattle industry analyst Nevil Speer said cattle on feed for more than 180 days, 1 million head on May 1, was the largest in history . . . Ground beef prices hit a record high recently of $6.90 per pound according to Business Insider, up almost 15% from a year ago . . . Axios reported the volume of Tyson Foods’ beef sales last month fell 13% versus a year ago. At the same time, the company’s volume of chicken sales rose 1.7%.