Lentils. (Seb_ra/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils shift in narrow range

Farmers seen sitting on product for now

MarketsFarm — Price movement for most western Canadian lentils held narrowly rangebound for the week ended Monday. Prairie Ag Hotwire reported most prices remained one cent per pound of unchanged. To Marcos Mosnaim of Export Packers, there were two central reasons for such sparse movement in lentils. “On one side… I will say the lack […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: South America rains push soy futures down

Wheat, corn futures also drop

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures declined about one per cent on Monday on profit-taking and pressure from beneficial rains over the last few days in South American crop areas, offsetting a weather premium that had been building for the oilseed crop. Corn and wheat futures also fell. Benchmark January soybeans on the Chicago […] Read more


File photo of laker vessels navigating the Welland Canal. (JonathanNicholls/iStock/Getty Images)

St. Lawrence traffic to resume as tentative labour deal reached

Deal goes now to ratification vote

A week-long strike by about 360 unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway ended Monday morning with a tentative agreement on a new labour deal. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and Unifor, the union representing the workers, announced the new agreement separately Sunday evening. Unionized workers had been on strike since just after […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund short position hits new record in ICE canola

Traders return to net long on soybeans

MarketsFarm — The net speculative short position in the ICE Futures canola market rose to its largest level ever recorded as fund traders put on fresh bearish bets and liquidated previously placed long positions, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of Oct. 24, the […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids book week of losses

U.S. wheat futures down on week

MarketsFarm — Western Canadian wheat bids took a tumble with durum prices having the largest losses during the week ended Oct. 26. U.S. wheat futures were pressured throughout the week as rains fell on winter wheat-growing areas in the country, as well as in Argentina, Ukraine and Australia. Export sales for U.S. wheat were lower […] Read more

CBOT January 2024 soybeans with 20-day moving average (right column) and CBOT December 2023 soymeal (dark green line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, soymeal climb on demand

CBOT wheat falls; gains in soy help lift corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rallied and soymeal hit a contract high on Friday on strong demand for U.S. supplies, analysts said. U.S. soymeal exports are on their way to new highs this season after a poor soybean harvest in top soymeal exporter Argentina earlier this year. Domestic soymeal users, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Grains see flat demand, price movement

A clearer picture of new-crop corn availability may provide direction

MarketsFarm — Recent demand for feed grains from feedlots has been in a standstill, according to Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta. “It’s been flat, probably since the end of September. We haven’t seen any big changes when it comes to demand or prices,” she said. “From what we’ve been […] Read more

The Agriculture Enlightened conference, held Oct. 26 in Winnipeg and hosted by EMILI, is trying to help Canada become a leader in digital and precision agriculture. (John Deere photo)

Robots may help grain farmers diversify

Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops

Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Wheat up off two-week low on Ukraine export uncertainty

Ukraine denies suspension of Black Sea export corridor

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose from a two-week low on Thursday on jitters about supply risks from the Ukraine war. Ukraine, a major grain exporter, has been using a Black Sea shipping channel to try to revive its seaborne shipments without Russian approval after Moscow in July quit a […] Read more

File photo of Rabobank’s office building in Utrecht. (Rabobank.com)

More acres expected for soybeans, canola, Rabobank says

RaboResearch arm sees Canada's exporters 'struggling' with margins

MarketsFarm — Farmers in the U.S. will seed more soybeans in 2024-25, with Canadian canola plantings also expected to rise to a lesser extent, according to a grains and oilseeds analyst with RaboResearch Food and AgriBusiness, a division of the Dutch multinational bank Rabobank at the firm’s Fall Harvest Outlook webinar. During the Wednesday webinar, […] Read more