(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Corn imports, larger crop prospects pressure barley

StatCan expected to raise barley crop estimate

MarketsFarm — The feed barley market in Western Canada remains relatively flat as steady corn imports from the U.S. keep domestic feeders well supplied. Ideas that Canadian production ended up above earlier expectations were also keeping a lid on the domestic market. Delivered barley into the Lethbridge, Alta. area is currently priced in the $300-$320 […] Read more

CBOT March 2024 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX March 2024 hard red spring wheat (yellow high/low/close) and K.C. March 2024 hard red winter wheat (orange H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat, corn rally as export sales top forecasts

Soybeans lower in narrow trading

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat and corn futures climbed more than one per cent on Thursday as traders covered more short positions following a slump to multi-year lows and as weekly export sales topped forecasts and included sizeable purchases by major importer China. Soybeans were lower in range-bound trading after the U.S. Department of […] Read more



McCain foods has launched Presia Ag Insights, a firm that will use artificial intelligence to advise growers.  Photo: McCain Foods

McCain launches new predictive ag firm

McCain Foods has formed a new digital agriculture subsidiary, Presia Ag Insights. The move builds on McCain’s 2022 acquisition of a “predictive crop portfolio” from Resson, a Fredricton, New Brunswick firm that uses artificial intelligence to advise farmers on crop management decisions. McCain, in a media release, said the Presia launch is “the result of […] Read more


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

CBOT weekly: Mostly bullish influences on soy, corn, wheat

China increasing imports, Brazil in weather bind

MarketsFarm — While extreme weather differences in Brazil remained the main focus of the Chicago Board of Trade’s attention, increased imports by China were becoming another major factor, according to Terry Reilly, senior agricultural specialist for Marex in Chicago. “People are watching China’s increased demand for soybeans, wheat and potentially corn,” Reilly said, noting the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola prices could rebound

'There's nothing all that exciting to look at'

MarketsFarm — Winnipeg-based trader Ken Ball from PI Financial is cautiously optimistic that canola prices can rebound in the short term. The January canola contract closed at $702.30 per tonne on Wednesday a weekly loss of $7.40. The contract fell below the $700 level on U.S. Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, a day with little volume. […] Read more


  Photo: Greg Berg

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat finishes higher on short covering

Soybeans nearly unchanged, drought in Brazil looms over production

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures climbed more than two per cent on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as traders covered their short positions ahead of month-end and first notice day for the spot December contract. Soybeans retreated in early trading before recovering as traders accessed adverse crop weather in Brazil. Corn […] Read more

A Palestinian man and his children sort freshly picked olives on a farm during a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 28, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Saleh Salem)

Delayed by war, Gaza’s olive harvest is too little, too late, say farmers

'The majority of the harvest was wasted'

Gaza | Reuters — Farmers in Gaza were taking advantage of the truce between Israel and Hamas to harvest what was left of their olives after weeks of fighting during which they dared not go to their lands for fear of getting killed. In a normal year the harvest would have started weeks earlier, but […] Read more


Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Green lentils show strength, reds lag

Green lentil sales limited as farmers bullish

MarketsFarm — Green lentil bids in Western Canada are trading at their highest levels of the past year, with solid new-crop pricing opportunities already becoming available. Spot bids for large green lentils can currently be found in the 60 to 72 cents/lb. area, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with new-crop contracts hitting 50 cents […] Read more

CBOT January 2024 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on Brazilian heat, export demand

Wheat moves higher; corn slumps on ample supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures climbed more than one per cent on Tuesday on concerns that scorching weather conditions in South America were taking a toll on crops, while the market also drew support from a fresh round of private sales by U.S. exporters. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat also rose more […] Read more