CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat sag as Ida damage spurs export concerns

Traders adjust positions on last day of month

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures touched their lowest prices in weeks on Tuesday as power outages and damage to export facilities from Hurricane Ida stoked concerns about the potential for extended disruptions to shipments, analysts said. Uncertainty over the length of facility closures at the Gulf Coast, which accounts for about […] Read more

CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle fall to lowest in three weeks

Hogs down off Monday's climb

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to their lowest prices in more than three weeks on Tuesday as boxed beef prices continued to weaken amid expectations for reduced demand, analysts said. Lean hog futures also declined as traders adjusted positions on the last day of the month and ahead of […] Read more


File photo of a steak sandwich with chimichurri sauce at a street food market in Buenos Aires. (Aleksandr_Vorobev/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina extends beef export cap, stoking farm tensions

Move seen as 'giving markets to other countries'

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina extended beef export restrictions until the end of October on Tuesday, stoking tensions with the powerful farm sector as the government seeks to bolster domestic meat supply to help contain rising food prices. The move comes months before key mid-term elections, with centre-left President Alberto Fernandez keen to avoid […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Stronger live cattle futures lift yearling market

Recent rains rejuvenate Prairie pastures

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were quoted $3 to as much as $6 higher; calf markets once again traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged depending on the region. Unbridled buying interest was noted on larger groups of high-quality yearlings. Despite the grass conditions this summer, cattle characteristics are rated above average […] Read more


CME December 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle follow boxed beef lower

Feeder cattle mostly firmer, hogs lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures sagged on Monday as beef prices fell and brokers worried that U.S. demand for steaks and hamburgers will decline after the upcoming Labour Day holiday weekend. Beef prices have softened after reaching their highest price since May 2020 last week as retailers stocked up for […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Prices down on rains, Ida shuts grain facilities

Iowa, Minnesota crops benefit from rain; Cargill says Ida damaged Louisiana terminal

Chicago | Reuters — Favourable rains in the U.S. Farm Belt combined with approaching harvests to push down Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures on Monday, analysts said. Traders, meanwhile, assessed disruptions to U.S. crop exports from Hurricane Ida at a time when global supplies are tight and demand from China is strong. […] Read more


Farmer and Grainews columnist Toban Dyck inspects wheat on July 6, 2021 near Winkler, Man., where hot and dry weather has led to thin, uneven stands. (Photo: Reuters/Rod Nickel)

StatsCan confirms Canada’s crop production down in 2021

Corn expected to be lone exception

MarketsFarm — Production of most of Canada’s major grain, oilseed and pulse crops was down substantially in 2021-22, as drought conditions across the Prairies cut into yields, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Statistics Canada. Of the major crops, only corn was expected to see a slight increase in production on the year as […] Read more

(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Olymel, union reach second tentative deal to end strike

Company postpones threatened layoffs pending employees' vote Tuesday

A second agreement in principle has been reached between meat packer Olymel and the union for one of its major Quebec hog slaughter and processing plants to end a months-long strike — this time under threat of layoffs. Olymel and the CSN-affliliated Syndicat des travailleurs de Olymel Vallee-Jonction (STOVJ) announced Sunday afternoon they had reached […] Read more


CME October 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and lean hog cash index (blue line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs rise, narrowing discount to cash market

Technical selling drags on live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed on Friday, led by the nearby October contract, in a technical and bargain-buying rally that narrowed the market’s sizeable discount to the exchange’s lean hog index, traders said. Actively traded October futures scaled to a 3-1/2 week peak and closed near its session high, […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Smaller crops anticipated in looming StatsCan report

Survey-based data due out Monday

MarketsFarm — Heat and drought across Western Canada during the summer of 2021 seriously cut into the country’s crop production, raising traders’ expectations for reduced yields across the board when Statistics Canada on Monday releases its first production estimates of the year. Canola production is estimated at 11.5 million to 16 million tonnes, which would […] Read more