Soybean farmers in the U.S. are suffering due to China's reduced soybean purchases amid escalating trade tensions, relying less on U.S. exports and shifting towards South American imports, which threatens the future of American soybean markets despite some government aid.
The soybean and wheat markets closed higher, with corn posting gains, as extended hot weather forecasts raised concerns about crop conditions. Corn closed 6¢ higher, soybean futures were 23-to-26¢ higher, and wheat futures closed 15-to-23¢ higher. The stock market traded on both sides, with the Dow up 43 points, while the US dollar was down 20 points. Livestock futures were higher, with October hogs up $2.97, October cattle up 50¢, and November feeders up $1.22. The grain markets are higher, but off the early day highs, and the weather looks hot and dry through next week.
The recent rainfall in the US Midwest has provided some relief to the drought conditions, but it may not be enough to reverse the higher trend in corn, soybean, and wheat prices. The US Department of Agriculture has already lowered its yield estimates for these crops, and the market is anticipating further reductions. The ongoing drought and heat stress could continue to impact crop yields and prices in the coming months.
China has approved the safety of a gene-edited soybean, developed by Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology, which has two modified genes that significantly raise the level of healthy fat oleic acid in the plant. Gene editing is considered less risky than GMOs and is more lightly regulated in some countries, including China. The approval comes as China looks to science to boost food production amid trade tensions, erratic weather, and war in major grain exporter Ukraine.
While eggs are a popular source of protein, there are several vegetarian foods that contain more protein than an egg. Soybean, chickpeas, buckwheat flour, chia seeds, and quinoa are all high in protein and can be easily incorporated into one's diet. Soybean has 36 grams of protein per 100 grams, while boiled chickpeas have 19 grams of protein per 100 grams. Buckwheat flour has 13.2 grams of protein per 100 grams, chia seeds have 17 grams of protein per 100 grams, and quinoa has 16 grams of protein per 100 grams.