Crops , Latest & Featured - Canadian Cattlemen

Lake Mead’s Boulder Basin in July 2008. (Andrew Cattoir photo courtesy NPS via Flickr)

Reservoir formed by Hoover Dam dips to record low

By David Schwartz June 24, 2015

Reuters — The largest capacity reservoir in the United States has hit its lowest water level in history following years of severe drought that have dramatically reduced flows from the Colorado River, water managers said on Wednesday. Officials said Nevada’s Lake Mead, the 79-year-old reservoir created by the massive Hoover Dam, registered 1,074.98 feet (327.7 […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Wheat falls on profit-taking after two-week high

By Julie Ingwersen June 24, 2015

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell on Wednesday after a seesaw session, pulled down by profit-taking from a two-week peak and as the hard red winter wheat harvest expanded in the U.S. southern Plains, traders said. Corn and soybeans also declined, reversing midsession gains as producers sold old-crop supplies. But […] Read more

Crops

Ag chem sector defends 2,4-D over cancer classification

By Dave Bedard June 23, 2015

North America’s crop herbicide sector is defending one of its classics against a new classification from the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on Monday released its classification of “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for 2,4-D herbicide, along with new classifications for now-defunct insecticides DDT and lindane. […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Crops, Hogs, Markets, Reuters

CME’s futures pit closures delayed to July 6 or later

By Reuters June 23, 2015

Chicago | Reuters –– CME Group said Tuesday it will delay the closure of its open-outcry futures markets in Chicago and New York by at least one trading day due to a technical revision in its filing with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The final open-outcry session is now expected to be on July […] Read more

(Michael Thompson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Crops, Markets, Reuters, Weather

U.S. grains: Wheat soars as rains threaten Midwest’s harvest

By Julie Ingwersen June 23, 2015

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures jumped about four per cent on Tuesday on technical buying coupled with concerns about rains delaying the Midwest harvest, traders said. Corn set a five-week high on declining U.S. crop conditions while nearby soybeans fell on softening cash values and stepped-up farmer selling. At the Chicago Board of […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters

Syngenta tests investor support for Monsanto opposition

By Ludwig Burger, Oliver Hirt June 23, 2015

Zurich/Frankfurt | Reuters — Syngenta will sound out shareholders in the coming days for their views on the Swiss crop chemicals maker’s opposition to rival Monsanto’s US$45 billion takeover approach. Any takeover offer needs to be at a fair price and provide a high degree of certainty that it will clear regulatory hurdles, Syngenta chairman […] Read more

Crops, Reuters

WHO agency says insecticides lindane, DDT linked to cancer

By Kate Kelland June 23, 2015

London | Reuters — The insecticide lindane, once widely used in agriculture and to treat human lice and scabies, causes cancer and has been specifically linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also said that DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) probably causes cancer, with scientific […] Read more

Crops, Markets

Canada ratifies UPOV ’91 seed treaty

By Canadian Cattlemen Staff June 22, 2015

Canadian crop commodity groups are hailing the federal government’s move to ratify Canada’s participation in the international UPOV ’91 treaty as a signal the country is “open for national and international investment.” Canada’s representatives to the World Trade Organization, on Friday in Geneva, deposited the government’s “instrument of ratification” for the 1991 Act of the […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola, Crops, Markets

Canola crush margins keep dropping

By Phil Franz-Warkentin June 22, 2015

CNS Canada — Canola crush margins remain in free-fall as canola seed becomes more and more expensive relative to the product values. “They’re not deteriorating, they’re flat-out disintegrating,” said a canola trader, pointing to the $20 drop over the past week alone. Crush levels have only been lower than they are now a couple times […] Read more

Canola, Crops, Reuters, Weather

Patchy canola points to smaller crop, harvest dilemma

By Rod Nickel June 22, 2015

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canola crops are rising across the Prairies like bad haircuts, reflecting multiple plantings and growth stages during a spring of frost and dry conditions. The most uneven canola crop in roughly a decade, according to provincial oilseed specialist Murray Hartman at Lacombe, Alta., points to lower yields in the world’s top […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures slide on human screwworm case report

U.S. grains: Soybeans fall as hopes for Chinese demand wane; corn, wheat firm

Alberta Crop Report: Two sides of the same weather coin

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