Valero Energy’s ethanol plant at Aurora, S.D., about 90 km north of Sioux Falls. (Valero.com)

Trump’s EPA unveils plan to pump up ethanol as Big Oil cries foul

Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released its proposed rule lifting a summer ban on higher-ethanol blends of gasoline to help farmers, putting the agency on a collision course with Big Oil which has called the move illegal. The proposal to broaden sales of the so-called E15 rule marks the latest flashpoint […] Read more

(PerformanceAg.ca)

Alberta input retail chain expands westward reach

A pair of independent crop input retail outlets in west-central Alberta will be networking with seven others by month-end. Crop Management Network (CMN), a joint venture between an employee-owned network of retail outlets and La Coop federee’s Agrico Canada arm, announced Wednesday it has reached a deal to buy Performance Ag Group. Performance Ag, which […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund short position rises in canola

MarketsFarm — Fund traders added to their net short position in ICE Futures canola contracts during the week ended Tuesday, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report compiled by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). After being delayed by the U.S. government shutdown, the CFTC was finally up to date with its […] Read more



The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C. (Skyhobo/E+/Getty Images)

U.S. EPA changed rules to help refiners get biofuel waivers, suit alleges

Reuters — U.S. environmental regulators quietly changed the way they assess applications from refineries for waivers from the nation’s biofuels law, making it possible for highly profitable plants to secure lucrative exemptions, according to court documents filed by a biofuels trade group on Thursday. The new documents, part of a lawsuit that began last year, […] Read more

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told the Canadian Crops Convention March 6 the Canadian government is trying to restore Richardson International’s canola exports to China. (Allan Dawson photo)

Canada working to end China’s canola block, Freeland says

Montreal — The Canadian government is working hard to reopen Richardson International’s Canadian canola markets in China, says Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs. “We’re working closely with Canadian farmers and Canadian industry,” Freeland said in a brief interview after speaking at the Canadian Crops Convention (CCC) here Wednesday. “Our embassy is very focused […] Read more


ICE May 2019 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: China worries keep market trending down

MarketsFarm — Canola futures on the ICE Futures U.S. platform dropped sharply during the week ended Wednesday, hitting their lowest levels in 2-1/2 years. Concerns over declining Chinese demand sparked the latest selloff in canola amid news that the major canola-buying country had blocked shipments from Canada’s Richardson International. Canadian canola exporters have faced problems […] Read more

A rapeseed field in southern China’s Yunnan province. (YuenWu/iStock/Getty Images)

Richardson disputes China claim of ‘hazardous pests’ in canola

Beijing/Chicago | Reuters — Canadian agribusiness Richardson International said on Wednesday that canola it shipped to China met regulatory requirements after a Chinese official charged that “hazardous pests” were found in samples taken recently from Canadian canola imports. Beijing this month cancelled Richardson’s registration to ship Canadian canola to China, the world’s top importer of […] Read more


Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson says China’s decision to stop imports of Canadian canola via Richardson International is concerning and something on which the council will work with the Canadian government to try and reverse. (Allan Dawson photo)

China’s block on canola seen as blowback from diplomatic spat

Montreal — Canola industry leaders attending the first Canadian Crops Convention here this week say they don’t know why China has abruptly blocked imports of Canadian canola from Richardson International, Canada’s biggest grain company. But according to a senior Richardson official it’s in retaliation to the diplomatic spat between China and Canada over the arrest […] Read more

(Richardson Pioneer via YouTube)

China blocks some Richardson canola shipments

Beijing/Kabul | Reuters — China has canceled Canadian agribusiness Richardson International’s registration to ship canola to China, the company said on Tuesday, the latest sign of tensions between Ottawa and Beijing. It was not immediately clear why exports to China by Richardson, the world’s top importer of canola, had been halted. Canada and China are […] Read more