Chickpeas in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Conditions optimal for India’s winter crops

MarketsFarm — Cold weather in key growing regions of India could indicate high production levels for winter pulse crops. Heavy showers and colder temperatures in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh created “ideal conditions” for winter-sown pulses, according to India’s agriculture commissioner SK Malhotra. Malhotra explained that the output of the winter-grown pulse crops will likely […] Read more

(JohnnyMad/Getty Images)

Yellow mustard bids solid

MarketsFarm — Yellow mustard bids remain solid in Western Canada, which should encourage acres this spring. “Yellow mustard started firming up after harvest,” said Walter Dyck of Olds Products. Poor conditions and quality concerns in the fall provided some of the support at that time, with top end bids still holding around 40 cents/lb. Brown […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Soybean futures touch five-week high

Corn rises as markets rebound

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures set a five-week high and corn futures advanced on Monday as markets rebounded from selling last week that was fueled by concerns over the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. Equity markets around the world rose on speculation that central banks will cut interest rates to soften the economic blow of […] Read more

Agco plans to have its IdealDrive joysticks in North American fields in 2021. (Photo courtesy Agco)

Fendt takes (out) the wheel on new combines

Agco says it's first of majors to offer joystick steering

Agco has officially declared itself to be the first major farm equipment player to put joystick steering in a combine. The ag equipment manufacturer unveiled IdealDrive on Thursday during the Commodity Classic in San Antonio, billing the new steering system for its Fendt Ideal combines as “the first joystick steering system on a combine from […] Read more


Wendy’s Canada said its new pea-based Plantiful “ensures flexitarians have a protein alternative that is full of taste.” (CNW Group/Wendy’s Restaurants of Canada photo)

Wendy’s launches Canadian-made plant-based burger

Pea protein patty developed 'in-house,' company says

Burger chain Wendy’s has set out to meet what it says is now an “expectation” in the Canadian quick-service dining sector, with a new pulse crop-based burger. The U.S. chain’s Canadian arm on Thursday announced it has launched a plant-based burger it calls the Plantiful at its 380-plus Canadian stores, using a patty it described […] Read more

An idle CN train is parked next to an empty Via Rail commuter station at Trenton, Ont. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

CN starts calling back laid-off employees

"Network recovery... will take several weeks"

Montreal | Reuters — Canadian National Railway has started calling back many of the 450 workers it laid off earlier this month in Eastern Canada, when blockades crippled operations on strategic rail lines, according to a company email sent to customers Friday. Earlier this week, police made 10 arrests and cleared a blockade in eastern […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Crop futures slide on coronavirus fears

Corn sets new contract lows, ends mixed; wheat at 3-1/2-month low

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures slumped to new contract lows on Friday and wheat fell to a 3-1/2-month low with a seventh daily drop in eight trading sessions as a spike in new coronavirus cases beyond China fueled fears of a pandemic. Soybeans also retreated, reversing course after three days of gains as […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat drops, durum steady

MGEX, CBOT, K.C. May wheats down on week

MarketsFarm — Prairie wheat bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat were lower for the week ended Thursday, following losses in U.S. futures. Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) largely held steady, buoyed by a weaker Canadian dollar, which lost about six-10ths of a cent. Average CWRS (13.5 per […] Read more



As seeding season approaches, a new seed royalty pilot is getting off the ground, to some controversy.  Photo: File

Seed pilot project unveiled

The new Seed Variety Use Agreement (SVUA) pilot project, unveiled in Winnipeg Feb. 25, will demonstrate the benefits of farmers paying breeders a royalty for seed saved for planting. But the Prairies’ five wheat and barley commissions have “significant concern” about the project, they said in a news release. The SVUA pilot is being organized […] Read more