File photo of a CFIA vehicle. (Dave Bedard photo)

Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar

Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding

Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection […] Read more

ICE July 2023 canola with 20-day moving average and November 2023 canola (yellow open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Expect canola to climb higher

Seeding reported underway in southern Alberta

MarketsFarm — As better-than-expected weather across the Canadian Prairies is very likely to spur on farmers to begin their spring seeding, the market is poised to push higher over the next couple of months, according to an analyst. “We have come down to the low end of the range,” said David Derwin, commodity futures advisor […] Read more


File photo of wheat south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. wheat futures correct higher

Traders' eyes remain on weather

MarketsFarm — After dropping to their weakest levels of the past two years, U.S. wheat futures were due for the corrective bounce that saw all three markets posted sharp gains on Wednesday. Soybeans and corn saw spillover support from the rally in wheat, with all three markets watching weather conditions through the growing season. U.S. […] Read more

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies as tensions rise between Russia, Ukraine

Recent rains may not be enough to save U.S. wheat, traders say

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago wheat rebounded from a 25-month low to close higher on Wednesday, edging up on fresh tensions between Russia and Ukraine that cast doubt on the future of the Black Sea grains corridor, analysts said. Corn also gained on the tensions. Soybeans, meanwhile, followed with a rally after touching a […] Read more


File photo of a canola field in northern France’s Normandy region. (Brasil2/iStock/Getty Images)

Rapeseed production expected down in EU

USDA attache sees more soy, sunflower

MarketsFarm — Rapeseed production in the European Union (EU) is expected to see a small decrease in the 2023-24 marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) European Union attaché in Vienna. In a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report released Wednesday, the EU’s 2023-24 rapeseed crop is expected to total 19.3 million […] Read more

Trucks wait for crossing into Poland at the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint in Ukraine’s Lviv region on April 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Roman Baluk)

EU sets Ukraine grain import restrictions in five countries until June 5

Supports pledged for farmers in those countries

Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said on Tuesday it set restrictions until June 5 on imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to ease the excess supply of these grains in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The EU executive arm said that during that period, Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and […] Read more


CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, Minneapolis July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat hits 25-month session low on good crop conditions

Market eyes talks on Black Sea grain corridor

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago wheat hit a 25-month low in the session to close lower on Tuesday, on weather that looked good for U.S. crop development and improving crop conditions. Wheat has been pressured down in recent days after the winter wheat crop rating as of Sunday was up two points from the […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Seeding to start in Manitoba, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan lentils expected to lose acres to wheat, canola

MarketsFarm — With the calendar turning to May and temperatures expected to surpass 20 C this week, pulse seedings are set to begin for parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. “Right now, we’re still in a bit of a holding pattern,” said Manitoba provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange. “We haven’t really had much for drying. Now […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Fund short position in canola grows for first time in a month

Corn moves from net long to net short

MarketsFarm — After covering bearish bets for four straight weeks, managed money fund traders were back on the sell side of the canola market in late April, covering longs and putting on new short positions. According to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as of April 25, […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN’s mechanics, intermodal staff ratify labour deal

Agreement averted strike in March

Mechanics, intermodal and clerical workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) who were on the brink of striking in March have voted to ratify the agreements that kept them off the picket line. Unifor, which represents about 3,000 CN employees, said Friday its members voted to ratify four new two-year collective bargaining agreements taking them through […] Read more