With rain forecast for most of the United States Corn Belt, the prospects for larger than expected soybean and corn crops is pretty much certain, according to broker Scott Capinegro of AgMarket Inc. in Chicago.

CBOT Weekly: Conditions for U.S. soybeans, corn ‘just ideal’

Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; farm groups say the opposite is true
Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called ‘extended interswitching.’ The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with (as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more

Strike averted at Cargill’s High River beef plant
Deal that hikes wages by 21 per cent and offers large bonuses receives majority backing
Workers at Cargill’s beef packing plant in southern Alberta have voted in favour of a contract that will hike wages by 21 per cent and provide improved health benefits. “The contract is the best of its kind and presented unprecedented gains in this time of economic and political uncertainty,” United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) […] Read more

Beef industry leaders urged to unite for common good
The leaders of Canada’s fractured beef sector need to work together and the rest of the industry needs to chip in more dollars for marketing and research, says a new report from a high-level task force. “We need to think as an industry, not just as sector components,” said marketing specialist Kim McConnell, one of […] Read more