Grains Extend Drop as South America Outlook Overshadows Farm Aid

Grains extended December’s steep declines into the new year, with traders focused on weather in South America, while fresh details on US farm aid provided little help to the markets.

The US Department of Agriculture earlier this week released eagerly-awaited payment rates that various crops can qualify for under the Trump administration’s $12 billion farm bailout, though many said the amounts were insufficient to turn around the ailing American agriculture economy.

“Wheat growers are closing the books on a difficult year marked by extremely high input costs and stubbornly low wheat prices,” the National Association of Wheat Growers said following ...