World Grain

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — No major agricultural area in the middle latitudes has been as dry as western Europe over the past four months. The environment has proven to be quite a challenge for unirrigated crop survival and recent weeks of excessive heat has only worsened the situation.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US — ADM, a global leader in innovative solutions from nature, announced on July 20 that it has named Jeff Rowe to the newly created role of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Aug. 17. In his new role, Rowe will oversee ADM’s commercial businesses, global manufacturing and research and development efforts and report to Juan Luciano, chairman of the board and chief executive officer.

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK — UK biscuit, chocolate and confections maker Pladis Global has launched Back to Farm, a new program designed to help UK farmers apply regenerative agriculture practices on their soil. The program will bring together farmers, agronomists and supply chain partners to “support responsible sourcing, strengthen long-term resilience and help create a more sustainable future for food production,” Pladis said.

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN — Kazakhstan’s grain-processing and milling sectors are undergoing steady expansion as new deep-processing investments come online, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA, US — Miller Milling Co. has promoted Carter Wands to technical sales and ITC manager. He most recently was manager of technical sales and innovation since joining the company in September 2023. Prior to Miller Milling Wands was technical sales manager of varietal solutions at Bay State Milling. Earlier, he was technical sales representative for cakes/sweet goods and West Coast bread at AB Mauri North America for three years.

How MC Mühlenchemie's pre-shipment analysis turns wheat uncertainty into flour reliability A miller in Ghana, Kenya, or Argentina faces the same structural uncertainty every time a wheat shipment is purchased: The contract is signed weeks or months before the grain arrives, based on specifications that describe what the wheat should be, not necessarily what the baking performance should be.

ROME, ITALY — Rather than retreating from trade in the face of more frequent and intense shocks to global food and agriculture markets, nations should reinforce it through openness, diversified partners, cooperation and effective policies, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

WASHINGTON, DC, US — Corn and ethanol industry groups in the United States applauded a 25% tariff on certain imports from Brazil imposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which cited unfair trade practices for the move. The tariffs, first proposed in June, will take effect July 22.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US — ADM has joined General Mills and Walmart in a strategic collaboration to accelerate regenerative agriculture across 40,000 Midwest wheat acres, specifically key growing regions where General Mills sources wheat from ADM for products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club.

UZWIL, SWITZERLAND — Bühler has expanded its portfolio of brushless sieve cleaners with NovaBlue II and NovaWhite that may be used in plansifters for different requirements in flour processing. The new cleaners are compatible with all Bühler sieve stack versions, including Nova, NovaTec and NovaPur.