Latest news with #NewWorldscrewworm
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri probes false report about screwworm pest that hurt US cattle prices
By Tom Polansek (Reuters) - Missouri authorities are investigating a fake press release about the damaging livestock pest New World screwworm that sparked a selloff in U.S. cattle futures markets last week, the state's agriculture department said on Friday. U.S. agriculture officials and farmers are on high alert for screwworm as it has moved north in Mexico from Central America, arriving within about 700 miles (1,125 km) of the Texas border. The U.S. Department of Agriculture indefinitely halted U.S. cattle imports from Mexico last month in a bid to keep out the parasite, which eats livestock and other wild animals alive. Screwworm infestations can kill cattle if left untreated and make them susceptible to secondary infections. On May 27, a false press release was sent to a northwest Missouri radio station about screwworm, the Missouri Department of Agriculture said. A report on the radio station's website pressured Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures before being taken offline, livestock traders said. Live cattle futures fell nearly 2% before paring losses, as daily trading volumes in the market spiked 77% from a week earlier. The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Rural Crimes Investigative Unit, the Livestock and Farm Protection Task Force, and state attorney general are investigating the matter, Missouri's agriculture department said in a press release. State officials want to determine "if this was an act with malicious intent to cause panic in agricultural markets," the department added. U.S. cattle producers' group R-CALF USA last week asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures markets, to investigate. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and exchange operator CME Group declined to comment.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Record beef prices raise Memorial Day cookout costs
By Tom Polansek, Heather Schlitz CHICAGO (Reuters) -Beef prices set records last month at U.S. grocery stores, and economists expect they will climb further as demand increases during the summer grilling season that traditionally begins with cookouts on Memorial Day on Monday. Higher prices hit consumers who are increasingly nervous about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy and after Washington halted cattle imports from Mexico over a pest called New World screwworm, which could hike up beef prices further by tightening the cattle supply. One consumer feeling the pinch is DeAndrea Chavis, an artificial intelligence analyst in Raleigh, North Carolina, who buys ground beef nearly every week to prep tacos and other dishes for lunch but lately is making smaller portions because of rising prices. Chavis said she has seen lean ground beef prices climb above $9 per pound from $6 to $8 in recent months. She is planning to keep hamburgers on the menu for a cookout next week but may have more hot dogs in the mix to control costs. "Ground beef is supposed to be a cheaper option," said Chavis, 28. "Now that is even starting to add up." Ground chuck prices in April reached a record $6 per pound, up 14% from a year ago, after farmers slashed their cattle herds to a 74-year low due to a years-long drought that reduced grazing lands. However, demand for beef is expected to reach a 39-year high as consumers stomach higher prices, Rabobank senior analyst Lance Zimmerman said. A Memorial Day cookout for 10 people eating a mix of foods, including one cheeseburger and chicken sandwich apiece, will cost an estimated $103, up 4.2% from last year, according to Rabobank. Hamburger meat prices jumped 6.4%, the bank said. Some consumers are buying cheaper cuts of beef, such as a top sirloin, to save money without switching to lower-cost chicken or pork, said Ian Anderson, market researcher for commodity data firm Expana. "Folks are still looking to get that juicy steak, and they don't want to pay ribeye prices sometimes," he said. 'IN LOVE' WITH HAMBURGERS The U.S. has increasingly relied on beef imports over the past 30 years to meet demand for ground beef. Imports of Brazilian boneless beef trimmings used for hamburgers were a record 6,888 metric tons in the week ended on May 10, signaling strong demand, said Bob Brown, an independent livestock market analyst. "We are so in love with hamburgers," he said. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture indefinitely blocked imports of Mexican cattle this month due to screwworm in Mexico. U.S. feedlots fatten Mexican cattle for roughly six to eight months before sending them to slaughter, meaning the ban would hit beef supplies after the peak of summertime demand, economists said. The USDA also closed the border for Mexican cattle imports from late November through February, which could tighten supplies this summer, they added. "Slaughter has declined dramatically recently," David Anderson, livestock economist at Texas A&M University, said. "If we have less beef produced, that's part of the recipe for higher prices." At some specialty butcher shops, customers who are long accustomed to paying higher prices for fresh local meat haven't pulled back on their spending, shop owners said. "I don't think people are shying away from meat," Bill Begale, owner of Chicago butcher shop Paulina Market, said, noting that there are no shortages of customers for their fresh meat, homemade sausages and expansive deli items. Chavis, in the meantime, said she has started shopping at Lidl and Aldi stores, instead of Food Lion and Walmart, as she hunts for cheaper ground beef. Alas, she said, "it's a problem all over."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Record beef prices raise Memorial Day cookout costs
By Tom Polansek, Heather Schlitz CHICAGO (Reuters) -Beef prices set records last month at U.S. grocery stores, and economists expect they will climb further as demand increases during the summer grilling season that traditionally begins with cookouts on Memorial Day on Monday. Higher prices hit consumers who are increasingly nervous about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy and after Washington halted cattle imports from Mexico over a pest called New World screwworm, which could hike up beef prices further by tightening the cattle supply. One consumer feeling the pinch is DeAndrea Chavis, an artificial intelligence analyst in Raleigh, North Carolina, who buys ground beef nearly every week to prep tacos and other dishes for lunch but lately is making smaller portions because of rising prices. Chavis said she has seen lean ground beef prices climb above $9 per pound from $6 to $8 in recent months. She is planning to keep hamburgers on the menu for a cookout next week but may have more hot dogs in the mix to control costs. "Ground beef is supposed to be a cheaper option," said Chavis, 28. "Now that is even starting to add up." Ground chuck prices in April reached a record $6 per pound, up 14% from a year ago, after farmers slashed their cattle herds to a 74-year low due to a years-long drought that reduced grazing lands. However, demand for beef is expected to reach a 39-year high as consumers stomach higher prices, Rabobank senior analyst Lance Zimmerman said. A Memorial Day cookout for 10 people eating a mix of foods, including one cheeseburger and chicken sandwich apiece, will cost an estimated $103, up 4.2% from last year, according to Rabobank. Hamburger meat prices jumped 6.4%, the bank said. Some consumers are buying cheaper cuts of beef, such as a top sirloin, to save money without switching to lower-cost chicken or pork, said Ian Anderson, market researcher for commodity data firm Expana. "Folks are still looking to get that juicy steak, and they don't want to pay ribeye prices sometimes," he said. 'IN LOVE' WITH HAMBURGERS The U.S. has increasingly relied on beef imports over the past 30 years to meet demand for ground beef. Imports of Brazilian boneless beef trimmings used for hamburgers were a record 6,888 metric tons in the week ended on May 10, signaling strong demand, said Bob Brown, an independent livestock market analyst. "We are so in love with hamburgers," he said. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture indefinitely blocked imports of Mexican cattle this month due to screwworm in Mexico. U.S. feedlots fatten Mexican cattle for roughly six to eight months before sending them to slaughter, meaning the ban would hit beef supplies after the peak of summertime demand, economists said. The USDA also closed the border for Mexican cattle imports from late November through February, which could tighten supplies this summer, they added. "Slaughter has declined dramatically recently," David Anderson, livestock economist at Texas A&M University, said. "If we have less beef produced, that's part of the recipe for higher prices." At some specialty butcher shops, customers who are long accustomed to paying higher prices for fresh local meat haven't pulled back on their spending, shop owners said. "I don't think people are shying away from meat," Bill Begale, owner of Chicago butcher shop Paulina Market, said, noting that there are no shortages of customers for their fresh meat, homemade sausages and expansive deli items. Chavis, in the meantime, said she has started shopping at Lidl and Aldi stores, instead of Food Lion and Walmart, as she hunts for cheaper ground beef. Alas, she said, "it's a problem all over." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Mexico agriculture minister says reached 'beneficial' agreements with US counterpart
Former regional head of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, Julio Berdegue, who will head the Mexico's agriculture ministry in the incoming government , poses for a photo during an interview with Reuters, in Mexico City, Mexico June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Paola Garcia/File Photo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue said on Tuesday he met his U.S. counterpart Brooke Rollins in a "friendly" meeting in Washington during which they reached agreements he said would be beneficial to both countries. Berdegue, who did not offer details about the agreements in his post on X, said the two countries would increase dialogue for ongoing and emerging issues. Relations have been strained between the two countries recently over the handling of a damaging pest called New World screwworm after the U.S. threatened to limit cattle imports from Mexico. Screwworm can infest livestock, wildlife and in rare cases, people. Maggots from screwworm flies burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage. Trade frictions have also surfaced between the two trading partners over a decades-old water sharing treaty under which Mexico has struggled to deliver on its obligations. Last week, both governments announced an agreement that Mexico would increase its water shipments, which the U.S. has said are vital for Texas farmers. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Natalia Siniawksi)
