(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

Iran cancels import duties on wheat, barley

Dubai/Moscow | Reuters — Iran has canceled import duties it imposed on wheat and barley in July, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The document said the import duties ended on Sept. 6 for wheat and on Aug. 22 for barley. It gave no reason for the cancellation. The Iranian government […] Read more


The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built in Norway in 2008, is the world’s largest secure seed storage site. (Matthias Heyde photo courtesy Government of Norway via Flickr)

Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from doomsday seed vault

Oslo | Reuters –– Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies, officials said Monday. The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers elsewhere in the Middle East to […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie wheat bids dip slightly

CNS Canada — Cash wheat bids across Western Canada generally dropped lower during the week ended Friday. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were up by C$1-$3 per tonne across the three Prairie provinces, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points. Bids ranged from about $221 per tonne in southern […] Read more


Russia defends crop data reliability

Moscow | Reuters –– Russia’s agriculture ministry defended the reliability of its crop data on Thursday, after a farmers’ lobby said regional officials were pressuring farmers to report bigger grain crops to the ministry than they actually harvested this year. The ministry said its numbers, compiled by its regional departments which send “operational information” to […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Wheat basis levels improve, futures stay bearish

CNS Canada –– Canada’s spring wheat basis has hit fresh highs to spur producer selling, but overall the market remains bearish. “It does seem kind of counterintuitive to see cash prices strengthening right during harvest,” said Brenda Tjaden Lepp, co-founder of FarmLink Marketing Solutions in Winnipeg. Over the past week, quoted basis levels for Canada […] Read more



(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. court finds EPA wrong to approve sulfoxaflor over bee risks

Reuters — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others […] Read more