Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell about one per cent on Monday on position squaring ahead of crop reports due this week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) along with forecasts for generally favourable planting weather in the Midwest, analysts said. Soybean futures also declined while wheat closed higher, rallying on bargain […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn falls one per cent, soy drifts lower
May wheat ends up off nine-week low

JBS profit bolstered by weak currency, strong Chinese and U.S. markets
China became third largest beef export market for JBS Canada, company says
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Meat processor JBS SA’s fourth-quarter profit rose 65 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s real currency, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. For full-year 2020 its profit was 4.6 billion reais, […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: Bids mixed with falling futures, weaker loonie
MarketsFarm — Bids in Western Canada were mixed this week for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat and steady to lower for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) and durum (CWAD). Lower prices in U.S. wheat markets weighed on values, while a weaker Canadian dollar provided support. Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were […] Read more

Hog market recovering from pandemic lows
China again a major driver of hog values
MarketsFarm — In April 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for lean hog futures dropped to their lowest point since 2002, falling below US$40 per hundredweight. Nearly a year later, the industry is in the middle of a speedy recovery. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Thursday, lean hog futures […] Read more

Mexico’s ban on GMO corn imports won’t apply to feed, U.S. says
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday that a Mexican plan to ban imports of genetically modified (GMO) corn would apply to grain used for human food products, not livestock feed, based on recent talks he had with Mexican Agriculture Secretary Victor Villalobos Arambula. Vilsack said limiting the ban to […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans follow veg oils lower
Corn, wheat gain after selloff
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures slid on Friday, pressured by declines in soyoil and funds squaring positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s grain stocks and planting intentions reports due March 31, traders said. Corn and wheat rebounded from prior day losses, but failed to end the week higher. The most-active soybean […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures notch new highs on tight supply
Cattle futures firm on cash values
Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange found life-of-contract highs for a second day on Friday after the U.S. Agriculture Department reported tight supplies in its quarterly hogs and pigs report after the close Thursday. CME April lean hogs settled up 1.125 cents at 100.8 cents/lb., after reaching a contract […] Read more

Top court upholds federal carbon pricing policy
Farm groups, fearing unsustainable costs, press for next steps
Calgary/Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the federal government’s carbon pricing policy on Thursday, upholding a central pillar of Prime Minister Justin’s Trudeau’s climate plan and infuriating some provinces that opposed it. The country’s top court said climate change is a threat to Canada as a whole and upheld the […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Roquette pea plant readying for full operation
MarketsFarm — Operations at the Roquette pea processing plant just west of Portage la Prairie, Man. have been underway since the end of 2020, according to Michelle Finley of Roquette Canada. The company is working toward full operation at the world’s largest pea plant by early 2022, she said. “To date we have picked up […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Prices to remain strong in spring
MarketsFarm — Higher prices for feed grains in Western Canada are expected to stay that way, according to a trader in Alberta. Erin Harakal, senior trader for Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta., said factors such as increased demand overseas and depleted domestic stocks will continue to keep prices elevated for feed grains. While she doesn’t […] Read more