Tech startup investments fell
Global investment in ag technology startups fell 30 percent last year from 2015’s record-setting capital inflow, according to an annual report from AgFunder, a food and ag investment platform. Nevertheless, the number of deals grew 10 percent in 2016 to a record 580. The $3.23 billion invested by venture capitalists and others was still the second highest annual total on record, the report said. “Investors are becoming more aware of the challenges in distribution and adoption rates,” explained AgFunder CEO Rob Leclerc. In addition, weak commodity prices have drawn down farmer incomes and created industrywide challenges. AgFunder said that funding for drones and robotics companies, bioenergy and food e-commerce businesses slowed, but investment in crop biotechnology and farm management tools increased.

Cattle Inventory Report
The Jan. 31 Cattle Inventory Report showed the U.S. cattle herd was around 585,000 head larger than traders anticipated. Plus, nearly every beef herd category came in higher than expected. This comes on the heels of bearish Cold Storage and Cattle on Feed reports. This trifecta could weigh heavily on the cattle complex.

Brazil may lift foreign investor ban
Brazilian President Michel Temer will propose legislation to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines and agricultural land, government sources said, according to Reuters. A bill to lift the ban on foreign investors in Brazilian agricultural land will reportedly contain a requirement that 10 percent of any purchase be put toward land reform to benefit landless farmers and peasants. Brazil restricted the sale of land to foreign investors in 2010 on concerns China or other countries could gain control of large segments of the country’s land. Expanded possibilities for investment could be seen in the pulp and paper, sugar and ethanol, grains and cotton sectors.

ADM sells insurance business
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) will sell its Crop Risk Services (CRS) insurance business to Validus Holdings Ltd. for $127.5 million, the companies announced Jan. 31. The deal is expected to close the first half of the year, pending regulatory review. The agreement does include a services deal under which ADM will continue to offer insurance products and grain-marketing services to CRS customers.

Weather limits crop concerns
Rain is in the forecast for all of Brazil during the next two weeks, which is expected to bolster crop prospects and ease dryness in the northeast, according to World Weather Inc. But the rain is not expected to boost yield potential in that area, World Weather said. Meanwhile, weather in Argentina has been dry and warm of late, but timely rainfall is expected for the country later this week and into the next. Thus, South American crop concerns remain limited.

Japan wants beef ban lifted
Japan is hopeful that a ban that has prevented it from shipping beef to Australia since 2001 will be lifted by the year’s end. The trading halt was due to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Japan has been talking with Australia about resuming exports of its gourmet “wagyu” beef since 2004. Japan’s ag ministry says that Australia will likely issue a final draft report that would promote lifting the ban later this year. Australia could then inspect Japanese facilities around the September to November timeframe before resuming exports. In 2016, Japan exported a record 13.5 billion yen ($118 million) of beef.

Cotton AWP rises
The Adjusted World Price (AWP) for cotton was 64.08 cents per pound effective Jan. 27, up from the prior week and at the highest level since Aug. 12, 2016, when it was 64.69 cents per pound. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also announced that upland cotton import quota #19 will be established Feb. 2, allowing importation of 13,556,910 kilograms (62,266 bales) of upland cotton. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than May 2 and entered into the U.S. not later than July 31.

Trump policy could affect ag
President Donald Trump says the U.S. could pay for a wall on the U.S./Mexico border by imposing a 20-percent tax on all imports from Mexico, which upset the country. A trade spat with Mexico would be damaging for agriculture. It is the U.S.’s No. 3 ag export market behind Canada and China. Mexico is the largest buyer of U.S. corn, pork, beef, poultry and dairy. It is the No. 2 buyer of U.S. soybeans. The top four U.S. ag exports to Mexico in dollar terms are dairy, pork, beef and poultry, the markets most at risk if a trade war develops.

WTO to probe subsidies
The World Trade Organization (WTO), as expected, said it will investigate U.S. allegations that China provided more than $100 billion in illegal government subsidies for producing rice, wheat and corn. Last year, the Obama administration filed a dispute that claimed Beijing supported farmers between 2012 and 2015 at levels that were substantially above China’s WTO commitments. If the WTO finds that Beijing violated its international trade obligations, it could force China to reduce its agricultural subsidies or face retaliatory trade tariffs worth tens of billions of dollars.