
Klassen: Feedlot demand up prior to seasonal rally
Market for calves 'boiling hot' in Manitoba
For the week ending April 30, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Yearlings traded $8 lower as much as $5 higher. Severe discounts were noted on fleshier cattle; some auction barns reported the bulk of cattle over 800 pounds were medium to heavier flesh. Deferred live cattle futures were under pressure but the […] Read more

Heat wave threatens India’s wheat output, export plans
Thin supplies, rising prices indicate lower output
New Delhi | Reuters — India’s wheat output looks likely to fall in 2022 after five consecutive years of record harvests, as a sharp, sudden rise in temperatures in mid-March cut crop yields in the world’s second-biggest producer of the grain. The drop could curb Indian exports of the staple. Cashing in on a rally […] Read more

Nutrien bolsters profit forecast on surging fertilizer prices
Fertilizer sector set for biggest profits in years
Reuters — Nutrien Ltd. on Monday raised its full-year earnings forecast well above estimates after posting a more than 10-fold jump in first-quarter profit, as the world’s largest fertilizer company benefits strongly from soaring prices of crop nutrients. Prices of essential crop nutrients such as potash and phosphate skyrocketed in the quarter, touching near-record levels, […] Read more

Agco buys Manitoba ag autonomy firm JCA
Massey, Fendt maker boosts precision ag capacity
International farm equipment maker Agco is aiming to boost its bench strength in the precision agriculture and autonomous ag sectors by buying a Prairie software and hardware company known for both. Agco, the maker of machinery brands including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Challenger and Valtra, said Monday it has bought Winnipeg-based JCA Technologies for an undisclosed […] Read more

USDA attache predicts large 2022-23 grain crops for Canada
MarketsFarm — Canada is expected to see a 30 per cent increase in grain production in 2022-23, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service post in Ottawa. Expectations for improved yields for Prairie grain crops after the 2021-22 drought accounted for much of the projected increase, although USDA also cautioned […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle futures firm on weaker corn
China's COVID lockdowns pressure CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters — CME live and feeder cattle futures firmed on Monday, supported by lower corn futures, an input cost to feeder cattle, analysts said. “The big driver there was just lower corn,” said Josh Steinhilber, broker at Cattlehedgers.com. “We got spillover into the live cattle.” CME August feeder cattle added 5.8 cents, to […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans drop to three-week lows
Wheat futures hit lowest since April 8; corn drops to one-week low
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures dropped to a more than three-week low on Monday, pressured by falling crude oil markets and delayed U.S. corn planting that some analysts think could push farmers to plant more soybeans. Corn fell ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly planting progress report on Monday afternoon, showing […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: Weather, loonie raise wheat bids
MarketsFarm — Adverse weather on both ends of the U.S. Plains as well as a weaker Canadian dollar were both supportive factors for western Canadian wheat bids for the week ended Thursday. For the second straight weekend, a Colorado low system hit the northern Plains as well as the eastern Prairie provinces on Sunday and […] Read more

Flood warnings raised in Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan
Flows could reach 2009 levels in Manitoba
MarketsFarm — Spring flooding in Manitoba’s Red River Valley could approach levels last seen in 2009, the highest water level since 1997’s “Flood of the Century,” according to the latest update from the provincial Hydrologic Forecast Centre. The centre is monitoring a precipitation system forecast for the April 29-May 1 weekend that is expected to […] Read more

U.S. EPA allows temporary summer sales of higher-ethanol fuel
Waiver seen as score for corn growers
New York | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency waiver for a higher-ethanol gasoline blend on Friday, allowing summertime sales of the fuel in an attempt to help lower gasoline prices at the pump. The move represents a temporary win for the biofuels industry and corn farmers, as it will likely […] Read more