Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry via YouTube)

W.A. Grain enters receivership

Farmers owed money for grain delivered to this company should contact the Canadian Grain Commission

Alberta-based grain and pulse handler and processor W.A. Grain + Pulse Solutions went into receivership April 26. Farmers who delivered grain to its faculties in Alberta and Saskatchewan but haven’t been paid should contact the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). “We have not commenced a claims process yet,” CGC spokesman Remi Gosselin said in an interview […] Read more


CBOT July 2021 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn hits eight-year high

Soybean, wheat markets slump

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures hit their highest price since March 2013 on Monday on strong demand for limited U.S. supplies and concerns over dry weather hurting output in Brazil. Traders continue to focus on tightening global inventories as U.S. farmers plant corn and soy for the autumn harvest, rather […] Read more

CME June 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs set life-of-contract highs on tightening supplies

Cattle mixed on concerns for cash prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures soared to contract highs on Monday on tightening U.S. supplies and rising cash prices. Prices have been rallying as consumer demand is rising due to easing pandemic-induced restrictions on dining and travel, analysts said. Hog supplies are tight after some farmers euthanized hogs or performed […] Read more



File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Back-to-work rule for Montreal dockworkers clears Parliament

Bill granted royal assent Friday night

A week-long strike by dockworkers at the Port of Montreal is expected to conclude after federal back-to-work legislation passed Parliament Friday evening. Bill C-29, introduced Tuesday in the House of Commons, cleared third reading in the Commons Wednesday and received three readings in the Senate and royal assent Friday. The port’s longshore workers, represented by […] Read more


(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Workers call strike at Olymel hog plant in Quebec

Producers urged to prioritize heavier hogs when shipping

Talks toward a new contract for unionized employees at meat packer Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have ended in a strike. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN, which represents over 1,000 staff at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City, called an “indefinite” strike effective Wednesday morning, the union […] Read more

File photo of Ontario cropland from the air. (IMNATURE/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal NDP introduces soil health bill

Proposal calls for a National Soil Health Advocate

The federal New Democrats propose to set up a plan they say could help build up Canadian agriculture from the ground down. The NDP’s agriculture critic, British Columbia MP Alistair MacGregor, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in the Commons to create a national soil health strategy for Canada. The strategy as proposed in […] Read more


CBOT July 2021 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat end higher after volatile week

Market assesses U.S. planting, drought threat to Brazil crops

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn, soybean and wheat futures rose on Friday after three days of volatile trade following a run-up to eight-year highs, traders said. The most-active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade gained 25 cents at $6.73-1/4 per bushel, adding 40-3/4 cents for the week, a 6.4 per cent gain […] Read more

CME June 2021 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs climb on tightening hog supply

Higher feed costs weigh on feeder cattle futures; June live cattle up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange gained on Friday on continued tight hog supplies that threaten to shrink available pork at a time when consumer demand remains strong. “Hog supplies are still shrinking seasonally. Pork supplies are figuring to tighten up as well,” said Doug Houghton, technical analyst […] Read more