Major Canadian pork and poultry packer Olymel has laid off 57 people from its management ranks and eliminated another 120 administrative positions, citing the company’s current “market context and growth challenges.” Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Cooperative Group, said Tuesday its affected employees were notified Monday and have received their layoff notices. […] Read more

Pork packer Olymel laying off dozens of managers
Market unpredictability, 'growth challenges' cited

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures hit over seven-year high
CME lean hogs also close higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts rose on Tuesday and the front-month contract hit its highest in more than seven years on strength in the cash market, traders said. Hog futures were also firm, with chart-based buying after contracts broke through key technical resistance points on Monday. CME December lean hog […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, soybeans, corn fall on demand concerns
CBOT December wheat touches four-week low
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures fell on Tuesday on concerns that overseas buyers will turn to alternative supplies to meet their import needs, traders said. “Consistently high prices are slowly doing their job of eroding demand across the board, with Brazil in particular among a group of global players that […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba’s dry beans, peas show strong yields
MarketsFarm — With the return of typical temperatures and healthy amounts of precipitation throughout the growing season, Manitoba had successful pea and dry bean crops during the 2022-23 marketing year, according to the province’s pulse specialist. Dennis Lange of Manitoba Agriculture said both crops showed high yields from their respective harvests. The Manitoba pea harvest […] Read more

Klassen: Uncertain fed cattle market weighs on feeder cattle
U.S. feeder demand seen relatively sluggish
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings (900 lbs. and over) appeared to trade $6-$8 lower on average; yearlings weighing 800-900 lbs. off grass were unchanged. Backgrounded yearlings were also $6-$8 lower. Mid-weight calves were unchanged but calves under 600 lbs. were $3 to as much as $10 lower in some cases. Feedlot operators pulled […] Read more

Feds back Montreal port grain terminal for upgrades
CanEst crop container terminal funded for equipment, capacity improvements
CanEst Transit’s grain container terminal at the Port of Montreal is putting $8 million in federal funding toward new equipment and improvements to current infrastructure. Transport Canada, in a release Wednesday, said the goal of the terminal project is to “increase the number of containers stored onsite, improve the quality of the grain-cleaning service, optimize […] Read more

Richardson makes first entry in branded crop inputs
Company launches new N stabilizer, CirrusX
Prairie grain handler and agribusiness Richardson Pioneer has launched itself into self-branded crop inputs with a nitrogen stabilizer, CirrusX. Steve Biggar, associate vice-president of fertilizer and energy products for Winnipeg-based Richardson, said it was the right time for the company to launch CirrusX because of new treaters the company has installed to allow liquid products […] Read more

Russian drones hit sunflower oil terminal, Mykolaiv mayor says
Kyiv | Reuters — Russian kamikaze drones hit tanks with sunflower oil at one of the terminals in the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv late on Sunday, the city mayor said on Monday. One of Ukraine’s largest ports, Mykolaiv halted shipments at the start of the Russian invasion, but Ukraine is pushing to open the […] Read more

U.S. winter wheat growers seed into dust as Plains drought persists
Chicago | Reuters — With seeding roughly halfway complete, the 2023 U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is already being hobbled by drought in the heart of the southern Plains, wheat experts said. Seeding plans may be scaled back in the U.S. breadbasket despite historically high prices for this time of year, reflecting rising global […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, soybean futures end firm
Chicago December corn weakens
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures ended slightly higher on Monday but closed well off their session peaks as traders monitored developments in efforts to keep a Black Sea shipping lane open for Ukraine grain exports. Corn futures sank on seasonal harvest pressure while soybeans firmed on bullish export data, traders said. Wheat surged […] Read more