CME December 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures up ahead of USDA report

Hogs also up ahead of separate USDA data

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures gained on Wednesday, as traders weighed continued strong slaughter rates against expectations for higher placements in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s end-of-week Cattle on Feed report. “The beef market looks like it’s possibly stabilizing, and that should be supportive for cattle prices in the near term,” said […] Read more



A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by farmers at Rio Pardo in Brazil’s Rondonia state on Sept. 15, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

JBS vows to monitor whole cattle supply chain’s impact on Amazon

Packer plans to move against cattle 'laundering'

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s top meatpacker, said Wednesday it plans to combat destruction in the Amazon by monitoring its entire supply chain for deforestation by 2025, as pressure mounts from environmentalists and investors. Brazilian meatpackers are facing increasing criticism that beef production is fueling deforestation in the Amazon, where cleared […] Read more

CBOT December 2020 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn, soy fall as dollar rises

U.S. harvest accelerates, adding pressure

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped 1.8 per cent on Wednesday, pressured by a firm dollar that traders said was depressing already weak overseas demand for U.S. supplies. “We are still not getting the export demand,” said Mark Schultz, chief market analyst at Northstar Commodity. “There is plenty of wheat […] Read more


Gov. Gen. Julie Payette looks on with Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance (l) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the Usher of the Black Rod Greg Peters leaves to summon the House of Commons to come listen to the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa on Sept. 23, 2020. (Adrian Wyld pool photo via Reuters)

Throne speech commits to rural broadband improvement

Rural health care, water management also on deck

The federal minority Liberal government is promising job creation, better rural internet access and a commitment to combating climate change in its newly revealed legislative plans. In an ambitious throne speech delivered Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party committed itself to implementing universal child care and extending or enhancing many of the economic measures put […] Read more

Wine grapes are seen hanging with remnants of smoke and ash at Hanson Vineyards at Woodburn, Oregon, about 45 km south of Portland, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Charred U.S. west’s ‘wet ashtray’ wine grapes left to birds

Reuters — Heavy ground smoke clouded Hanson Vineyards in Oregon’s picturesque Willamette Valley for more than a week following a Labour Day windstorm that kicked up wildfires across the western United States. Jason Hanson expects his crews may only harvest five tons of grapes, including his Chardonnay and Gamay varieties, down from the 25 to […] Read more


An OFX widget is now available for farmers perusing AgDealer’s online listings. (GFM staff photo)

AgDealer plugs into forex service provider

Listing site to offer currency exchange service on cross-border purchases

Farmers buying used iron internationally by way of AgDealer are getting access to what’s billed as a lower-cost option to handle the currency exchange. AgDealer, Canada’s largest used farm equipment shopper publication and online listing platform, announced a partnership Tuesday with OFX Group, an Australian-based online currency exchange provider. Farmers, distributors and buyers outside of […] Read more

(Greg Berg photo)

Oats values hold steady at harvest

MarketsFarm — The oats market in Western Canada is holding relatively steady despite seasonal harvest pressure, although yields failed to live up to earlier expectations. “Steady at harvest time is good,” said Scott Shiels, grain procurement merchant with Grain Millers in Yorkton. Prices often dip at harvest time due to increased deliveries, he noted, but […] Read more


(File photo by Allan Dawson)

Beef sector aims for new 2030 targets

Organizations involved in Canada's National Beef Strategy have announced new goals for the beef sector for the next decade

The Canadian beef industry has new benchmarks to reach for in the next decade. The organizations involved in Canada’s National Beef Strategy — the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canada Beef Breeds Council, Beef Cattle Research Council, Canada Beef, The National Cattle Feeders’ Association, Canadian Meat Council and Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef have announced new 2030 […] Read more

Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea production expected up in 2021

MarketsFarm — Following an expected 11.4 per cent drop in Saskatchewan’s chickpea harvest this year, provincial pulse specialist Dale Risula is expecting an increase in 2021. In Statistics Canada’s most recent field crop report, issued last week, chickpea production in Saskatchewan was estimated to have dropped from 224,600 tonnes in 2019 to 199,010 tonnes this […] Read more