Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers are on track to harvest a record-large all-wheat crop, and more canola than last year, due mainly to favourable crop conditions, advisory service FarmLink Marketing Solutions estimated Wednesday. The Winnipeg-based company’s staff toured western Canadian fields during the last two weeks of July. “We expected a big crop and […] Read more

Crop tour suggests record-large wheat harvest ahead

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures steady as investors eye supplies
October lean hogs close higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures steadied on Wednesday, with investors unwilling to push the market above recent highs due to plentiful supplies. Some producer hedging also was noted, traders said. “Everybody is a little too bulled up,” said Larry Hicks at Cattlehedging.com. “Everybody thinks we have worked through the supplies and we have […] Read more

Wheat in Beirut’s port granaries not usable
Lebanon will import wheat, economy minister says
Cairo | Reuters — Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, told local media on Tuesday that the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries. The minister also told local media that Lebanon will import wheat and added that the country currently has enough […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures snap winning streak on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures weakened on Tuesday, snapping a five-session streak of gains, as traders took some risk off the table. Hog futures were slightly firmer. Investors shrugged off signs of strength in the cash cattle markets, concerned that the streak that pushed the October contract to a five-month high had […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures extend winning streak
Big supplies hinder hog market
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures firmed on Monday, with fund buying sparking the gains due to expected strength in the cash markets, traders said. “The trade continues to feel that the cash market has bottomed,” said Don Roose of U.S. Commodities. “It continues to feel that the cash market will trade from […] Read more

Loblaw beats profit estimates as online sales surge
Reuters — Loblaw beat quarterly revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, driven by a near-fourfold jump in online sales, as stay-at-home Canadians used the retailer’s pickup and delivery services to stock up on bread, milk and eggs. With consumers still limiting their trips outdoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said it would invest […] Read more

Feds proposing to expand wage subsidy program
Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government wants to expand an emergency wage subsidy program so that all businesses suffering losses from the COVID-19 outbreak will benefit, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Friday. Morneau told a news conference that Ottawa would drop an earlier requirement stipulating that businesses needed to show a 30 per […] Read more

Elanco Animal Health wins U.S. approval to buy Bayer unit
Elanco to shed cattle pour-on brand, others for approval
Washington | Reuters — Elanco Animal Health has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Bayer’s animal health business on condition that it sell assets to treat three ailments, two in dogs and one in cattle, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. The deal was valued at $7.6 billion when it was announced in August […] Read more

China reports lumpy skin disease outbreaks in cattle
Beijing | Reuters — China is facing outbreaks of a debilitating virus in cattle that causes a condition called lumpy skin disease, following an incident on a farm in the eastern province of Zhejiang this week, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. On its website, the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs said five cases […] Read more

Elanco forgoes Canadian poultry insecticide rights for Bayer deal
Reuters — Elanco Animal Health has decided against acquiring Bayer’s Canadian distribution rights to several poultry insecticides, Canada’s Competition Bureau said on Tuesday, as it looks to complete a $7.6-billion deal. The U.S.-based company will also divest its canine ear infection treatment product Osurnia and Bayer’s feline dewormer Profender to address competition concerns about its […] Read more