
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans rise ahead of USDA report
U.S. wheat futures end mixed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Tuesday as investors unwound bearish bets ahead of a key government supply and demand report at the end of the week, traders said. “It is all money flow,” said Karl Setzer, brokerage research lead with Mid-Co Commodities. “When you get down to it, funds have built […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle rally to contract highs
July lean hogs also higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rallied to fresh contract highs on Tuesday, supported by technical buying and strength in the cash market, traders said. Livestock traders did not see any reason to disrupt the recent trend at a time of strong seasonal demand, with traditionally active grilling holidays such as Father’s […] Read more

Survey to look at farm stress from Alberta angle
Study to explore farmers' levels of resilience against stress
Researchers from the University of Alberta and AgKnow, the province’s farmer mental health network, are looking to build up Alberta-specific data on farming stress, mental health and well-being, and the ways in which farmers cope. They study team is “looking for farmers, ranchers, or anyone who works or lives on a farm” to participate, researchers […] Read more

Fund traders add to bearish bets in canola
Funds also net short in MGEX and CBOT wheat, corn
MarketsFarm — Speculative fund traders added to their net short position in canola during the week ended May 30, putting on more bearish bets while also liquidating some previous longs, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of May 30, the net managed money short […] Read more

Repeat of record Australian wheat, canola crops unlikely
ABARES expects 2023-24 crop down on year
MarketsFarm — After growing record-large wheat and canola crops in 2022-23, Australia is expected to see a significant drop in production in 2023-24 as developing El Nino weather patterns will likely cut rainfall through the growing season, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Dryness to cut into Australian production
MarketsFarm — Dry conditions and low soil moisture reserves in key Australian growing regions, along with expectations for developing El Nino weather patterns, are expected to cut into the country’s pulse production in 2023-24, despite steady to higher seeding intentions for several crops, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural […] Read more

EU extends restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports
Restrictions won't apply to seed for planting
Warsaw/Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said Monday it was extending until Sept. 15 an arrangement whereby five of Ukraine’s EU neighbours can restrict imports of Ukrainian grain. The EU on May 2 allowed the five countries — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed […] Read more

Extent of Saudi oil production cut unclear
Reported tensions within OPEC limit price gains
MarketsFarm — At the OPEC+ meeting Sunday in Vienna, Saudi Arabia announced it will cut its oil production by one million barrels per day (BPD) come July. And while that move was bullish for the markets, by how much remains to be seen, said Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group in Chicago. “It’s probably […] Read more

Klassen: Texas flooding lifts Canadian feeder market
Fed cattle in counter-seasonal trend
For the week ending Sunday, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $6-$8 higher. In some cases, quality yearling packages traded as much as $10 above week-ago levels. Live and feeder cattle futures closed the week US$8-$9 higher as traders monitored flooding conditions in Texas. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis in […] Read more

Animal care council won’t update livestock transport code of practice
NFACC says 'no further action' pending
After over four years’ publicly funded work to develop an updated national code of practice for livestock transport for Canada, the National Farm Animal Care Council has called a halt. In an information update dated May 1, NFACC said its board has now decided “no further action will be taken” by the council to update […] Read more