CME June 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle set contract high as cash prices jump

USDA sees hog farrowing intentions down on year

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures strengthened on Thursday, with the front-month contract setting a new high, as cash prices climbed. Cash cattle trades of around $170-$171/cwt in western Nebraska and around $172/cwt in northwest Iowa ignited the rally in futures, analysts said (all figures US$). Cash prices were up about […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices continue to soften as April approaches

Seeding start in Alberta remains a question mark

MarketsFarm — Corn is still moving into feedlots in southern Alberta as it approaches not only the end of its contracts, but also the end of winter. “We’ve been seeing here in Lethbridge prices at $395-$400 per tonne ($10.03-$10.16 per bushel),” said Erin Harakal, trade manager at Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta. “It seems […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Wheat down off Wednesday’s one-month high

USDA stocks, prospective plantings reports due out Friday

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Thursday on profit-taking after one-month highs a day earlier and reminders of strong competition for global export business, analysts said. Nearby corn and soybean futures drifted lower as traders squared positions ahead of key U.S. plantings and stocks reports due on Friday. Chicago Board of Trade […] Read more

Signage on Viterra’s office building in Regina. (Dave Bedard photo)

Viterra to exit Russian grain trade

The company's team in Russia to create new grain exporter

London | Reuters — Global grain trader Viterra’s management team in Russia plans to create an independent Russian grain exporter once the company ceases export activities in the country, the head of its Russian office, Nikolai Demyanov, told Reuters on Thursday. Viterra — whose owners include mining and trading giant Glencore and the investment management […] Read more


(Fentino/E+/Getty Images)

Carbon price exemption for farm gas clears Commons

Bill C-234 next headed to Senate

Legislative amendments that would exempt farmers’ eligible purchases of natural gas and propane from federal carbon pricing are now en route to Canada’s Senate. Bill C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by Ben Lobb, the Conservative MP for the southern Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, passed third reading for adoption in the House of Commons on […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Railways push back on feds’ proposed interswitching revival

Railways also oppose ban on replacement workers

With Easter less than two weeks away, an Easter egg in the federal government’s 2023 budget calls for a new pilot program to again provide Prairie grain shippers with extended interswitching. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget, released Tuesday, laid out a list of investments to “further strengthen Canada’s transportation systems and supply chain infrastructure.” A […] Read more


ICE July 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Not a matter of when, but where canola peaks

Prevailing trend remains downward

MarketsFarm — As the rally in canola on ICE Futures continued Wednesday, an analyst stressed it’s not when this upswing ends, but where. David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg spoke of when canola prices were falling, and they broke through that psychological barrier of $800 per tonne on their way down. “That was the […] Read more



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

U.S. grains: Wheat up on Cargill’s Russia decision

Corn firm ahead of U.S. planting report; soy up on Argentina concerns

Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rallied and closed higher on Wednesday, after global grain trader Cargill said it would take a further step back from the Russian market by no longer handling the top wheat supplier’s grain at its export terminal from July. Cargill’s shipping unit will continue to carry grain from the country’s ports, […] Read more

CME April 2023 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit three-week peak on tightening U.S. supply

Weak cash prices drag on hog futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures marched to a three-week high on Wednesday on expectations for tighter U.S. supplies, analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also advanced, while lean hogs softened. Technical buying helped support live cattle, analysts said, after a drop near eight-week lows last week was seen as overdone. The […] Read more