There is skepticism in the trade towards the latest numbers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and those to come from Statistics Canada on Aug. 28, according to broker Ken Ball of Ventum Financial in Winnipeg.
Corn and wheat prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were mostly steady during the week ended Aug. 21, while those for soybeans started to move upward.
Most of Manitoba’s fall rye and winter wheat crops came off the ground, while the harvesting of other crops for the most part started during the week ended Aug. 19, according to the province’s weekly crop report.
Days before Statistics Canada presents its monthly principal field crop estimates, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released its estimates on Aug. 20, showing some changes to grains from the month before.
Nearly three dozen North American agriculture groups, in a joint letter to the U.S. and Canadian governments today, urged action to avoid a rail stoppage.
Corn yield prospects in both Ohio and South Dakota were below last year's findings, but higher than the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Monday.
Chicago soybean futures rallied on Monday, recovering from nearly four-year lows as traders waited to see if a major field tour this week will support expectations of bumper U.S. yields.
Canada's freight rail network could come to a grinding halt this week, inflicting a huge economic toll after the country's two largest railroad operators on Sunday issued lockout notices to the Teamsters union that represents nearly 10,000 workers.
In the days since August 9, panic has begun setting in within the agricultural industry. The country has never seen a labour dispute that resulted in a strike or lockout from both of Canada’s rail companies. With harvest ramping up, a suspension of rail services would be disastrous for the industry.