(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan’s canola estimates taken with grain of salt

CNS Canada — Statistics Canada’s latest crop production estimates are in and while they may raise a few eyebrows, the numbers aren’t likely to cause havoc in the markets, according to most trade analysts. StatsCan on Tuesday pegged canola production in 2016-17 at 17 million tonnes. That compares to pre-report ideas of 15.9 to 20 […] Read more

(Syngenta.com)

U.S. watchdog clears ChemChina’s takeover of Syngenta

Zurich | Reuters — A U.S. regulator has cleared ChemChina’s US$43 billion takeover of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, the companies said Monday, boosting chances that the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Chinese company will go through. The decision should remove significant uncertainty over whether the acquisition of the world’s largest pesticides maker […] Read more



(Tisdale.ca)

Tisdale drops ‘Land of Rape and Honey’ slogan

Reuters — The Saskatchewan town of Tisdale is no longer the “Land of Rape and Honey,” it said on Monday, as it dropped a slogan that had been a constant source of complaints. The slogan referred to rapeseed, also known as canola, a major product of Tisdale and the surrounding region along with honey. But […] Read more


Canary seed carryout most likely underestimated

CNS Canada — Canary seed could be looking at a carryout 10 times the size at which Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada had pegged it, according to one processor. Ending stocks for the recently finished 2015-16 crop year are currently estimated at only 5,000 tonnes, according to the latest AAFC Outlook for Principal Field Crops report. […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Weather forecast weighs on soybeans

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday as the weather outlook for the Midwest bolstered expectations of a huge harvest in the fall, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures firmed, recovering from early weakness on short-covering and technical buying. The forecast for key growing areas of the U.S. […] Read more





(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario’s Leal jumps in on vegetable marketing proposal

Ontario’s Farm Products Marketing Commission has been ordered to change its approach on proposals to deregulate vegetable contract talks between growers and processors. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal, in a letter dated Wednesday to commission chair Geri Kamenz, said “concerns have been raised about an apparent lack of both adequate and sufficient information and consultation […] Read more

(Bob Nichols photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soybeans weaken while corn, wheat tick higher

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures eased on Thursday, closing well above session lows as technical buyers stepped into the market after profit-taking sparked an early sell-off, traders said. Wheat and corn futures firmed on short-covering, recovering from early dips into negative territories. Rain in key U.S. growing areas that removed some lingering doubts […] Read more