US farm data blackout clouds global grain trade

US data vital to global grain and soybean trading has gone dark during the federal government’s shutdown, leaving commodity traders and farmers without crop production estimates, export sales data and market reports during the peak of the autumn harvest. The data blackout comes at a particularly difficult time for farmers, who are grappling with low grain prices and uncertainty over damage to corn and soy fields from dry weather and crop diseases. Previous shutdowns during President Donald Trump’s first term were less disruptive because they happened after harvest season, analysts said. Trump is now locked in a trade war with China that has kept the world’s biggest soy importer from buying US supplies. Traders have been watching closely for any hint of a deal, but the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not confirming export sales as usual now. The disruption has left growers and traders without fresh government information on the progress of the harvest and the state of the ...