(Dave Bedard photo)

Drought fears, fertilizer may affect Canadian acreage estimates

MarketsFarm — Traders and analysts awaiting Statistics Canada’s first survey-based acreage report for the 2022-23 crop year on Tuesday believe competition amongst crops — as well as their dependence on fertilizer, and the possibility of another drought this summer — will be determining factors. Canola stands as the best representation of traders’ concerns. Despite reaching […] Read more

CME June 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle retreat off two-month high

U.S. cattle on feed up two per cent; Chicago lean hogs end higher

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ended lower on Friday in a profit-taking setback from two-month highs amid worries about inflation curbing consumer demand for beef, traders said. Larger-than-expected numbers of U.S. cattle on feed announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the CME close could pressure futures […] Read more


CBOT July 2022 soyoil (candlesticks, right column) with 20-day moving average (dark green line) and July 2022 soybeans (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soyoil surges on Indonesia export ban

Soybean, corn futures sag on profit-taking

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soyoil futures surged to all-time highs on Friday after Indonesia blocked exports of palm oil, a competing vegetable oil, but soybean and corn futures fell on profit-taking ahead of the weekend. Wheat futures ended modestly lower after a choppy session as brokers weighed tightening global grain stocks against sluggish export […] Read more

File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Indonesia bans palm oil exports as global food inflation spikes

Government under pressure to control cooking oil prices

Jakarta | Reuters — Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, announced plans to ban exports of the most widely used vegetable oil on Friday, in a shock move that could further inflame surging global food inflation. The halting of shipments of the cooking oil and its raw material, widely used in products ranging from […] Read more



A McDonald’s restaurant sign in San Diego on March 31, 2015. (File photo: Reuters/Mike Blake)

McDonald’s calls Icahn demands on sourcing pigs ‘unfeasible’

Investor cites company's 10-year-old pledge

Boston | Reuters — McDonald’s Corp on Thursday said Carl Icahn’s call for the fast food chain to stop buying pork from suppliers that house the animals in crates would be logistically unfeasible and prohibitively expensive. The billionaire investor, who owns roughly US$50,000 worth of McDonald’s stock, is pushing the company to change how it […] Read more


(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders

U.S. agribusinesses still seeking exemptions for cross-border truckers

Washington | Reuters — The United States government said Thursday it’s extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders must be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after […] Read more

File photo of a small flock of tundra swans taking off from a grain field in early spring. (WWing/iStock/Getty Images)

Spring planting work can kick up avian flu, feather sector warns

Three more poultry outbreaks confirmed in Canada so far this week

Spring planting work could soon start to bring unintended gifts left by wild birds from fields into farmyards, Ontario’s poultry and egg sectors warn, as more cases of avian flu are confirmed at poultry farms across the country. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday reported three additional outbreaks of H5 avian influenza in commercial […] Read more