Livestock nutritionist John McKinnon examines three scenarios at how byproduct feeds can be used in cattle feeding programs.

Using byproduct feeds to influence profitability of backgrounded calves

Nutrition with John McKinnon

In my last column, I wrote about some of the challenges facing producers who background cattle, both from a marketing and production perspective. Concerning marketing, emphasis was placed on differences between custom and owner-operated businesses. From a production perspective, both knowledge of cost of production and identifying goals of the nutrition program were stressed. Concerning […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Fund long position drops in canola

Net long in CBOT soybeans also down on week

MarketsFarm — Fund traders have been busy liquidating long positions and putting on new bearish canola bets in early September. The net managed money long position in the ICE Futures market dropping sharply during the week ended Tuesday (Sept. 12), according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn down on harvest pressure, demand woes

USDA crop reports show brisk harvest, little change to crop quality

New York | Reuters — U.S. corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) hit their lowest levels in nearly three years on Monday as the Midwest harvest expanded, adding to fears of a supply glut at a time of weak export demand for U.S. supplies, traders said. The benchmark CBOT December corn settled […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat bids mixed, durum lower

StatCan raises projections for spring wheat harvest

MarketsFarm — Bids for Western Canadian spring wheat were on both sides of unchanged while those for durum were lower for the week ended Thursday. Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its model-based principal field crop production estimates on Thursday, presenting a tightening wheat crop compared to that from 2022-23. All-wheat production was projected at 29.8 million […] Read more


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans down on positioning, crush pace

CBOT wheat ends up on week

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday on technical selling and profit taking after two sessions of gains, and as a monthly crush report showed U.S. processors handled far fewer beans than expected in August. Corn futures followed soybeans lower, with both markets also pressured by improving crop conditions in Europe and […] Read more

(Brett Holmes Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Few surprises in StatCan report, analyst says

Downward revision on canola among those few

MarketsFarm PRO analyst Mike Jubinville said Statistics Canada’s principal field crop production report, released Thursday, did not contain too many surprises. The agency’s previous report on Aug. 29 already provided insight as to what production numbers were going to be, he said, but still warned the model-based projections in the latest report will not be […] Read more


Photo: File

Feed weekly outlook: More demand for barley in Alberta

U.S. corn imports still expected to cap barley values

MarketsFarm — As Alberta’s harvest continued, yields and crop conditions have varied across the province, according to Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta. “There has been such a wide range across the map, it really depends on location,” she said. “We’ve seen some areas that are just below average of […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on signals of supply, weather concerns

CBOT wheat falls on higher U.S. dollar, corn pressured by wheat

New York | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures turned higher amid a volatile trading session on Thursday, as commodities traders wrestled with tight domestic supplies and uncertainty over weather impacts on the current U.S. crop. Analysts said that market participants are focusing on how the recent extreme heat waves across the […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies on Black Sea tensions

Corn prices follow wheat higher, soy gains as traders eye crop yields

New York | Reuters — Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose for a second straight session on Wednesday, as Russia reported Ukrainian strikes on a naval base in the grain-rich Black Sea region and Kyiv said its grain exports dropped sharply. Kyiv said on Wednesday more than 100 of its port […] Read more

(Christophe Paul photo courtesy USDA)

USDA adjusts soy, corn outlooks in September report

U.S. wheat usage, carryout estimates shift

MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture made a number of slight changes to its forecast on soybeans and corn for 2023-24, while keeping its domestic wheat numbers from August. USDA on Tuesday issued its monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates, adjusting its forecast on this year’s soybean yields at 50.1 bushels per acre, […] Read more