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

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans sag on harvest pressure, investor caution

CBOT December wheat closes higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Friday on expectations for the harvest of both crops to expand in the heart of the Corn Belt, and on investor caution following news of U.S. President Donald Trump’s positive test for COVID-19, analysts said. Wheat futures firmed on concern about dry weather in […] Read more



Canadian ginseng, whose shipments to Hong Kong have plummeted since COVID-19 infections peaked in Canada this spring and travel restrictions took effect, is seen in southwestern Ontario’s Norfolk County in this undated photograph. (Handout photo courtesy Helen Mels via Reuters)

Ginseng piling up in Canada despite Chinese demand

Travel restrictions depress new-crop sales

Winnipeg/Hong Kong | Reuters — The pandemic’s crushing effect on international travel has grounded Canadian exports of ginseng, a root widely used in Asia to treat everything from the common cold to impotency, at a time when health is top of consumers’ minds. Canada is the world’s second-largest ginseng exporter after China, with most of […] Read more

Roquette’s plant-based protein products include Nutralys T70S, billed as a plant-based, texturized protein that “guarantees a unique fibrous texture and great use adaptable to several types of meat substitute” such as burger patties, chicken-type filets and sausage. (Roquette.com)

Plant-based protein maker Roquette sees short-term COVID-19 impact

Demand could accelerate second Canadian plant

Paris | Reuters — The plant-based protein market has seen a slowdown in new product launches and lower sales in restaurants and cafeterias due to COVID-19 but benefited from more people cooking at home and trying new products, French manufacturer Roquette said. The market for plant-based protein such as meat-free burgers has surged in the […] Read more



Gov. Gen. Julie Payette looks on with Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance (l) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the Usher of the Black Rod Greg Peters leaves to summon the House of Commons to come listen to the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa on Sept. 23, 2020. (Adrian Wyld pool photo via Reuters)

Throne speech commits to rural broadband improvement

Rural health care, water management also on deck

The federal minority Liberal government is promising job creation, better rural internet access and a commitment to combating climate change in its newly revealed legislative plans. In an ambitious throne speech delivered Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party committed itself to implementing universal child care and extending or enhancing many of the economic measures put […] Read more


CBOT December 2020 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, soy, corn fall sharply on fund selling

'It is basically risk-off across the board'

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean, corn and wheat futures plunged on Monday as concerns about fresh coronavirus-driven lockdowns due to rising global case counts sparked a wave of risk-off trades. The grains, led by a 3.7 per cent drop in wheat that marked its biggest daily percentage decline since August 2019, […] Read more

(SCIC.ca)

Saskatchewan extends WLPIP premium rebate if needed

Rebate to offset premium prices, if above pre-COVID levels

Saskatchewan’s temporary subsidy against price jumps in premiums for the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) will continue when needed to the end of 2020. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC), which administers the program in that province, announced Tuesday the WLPIP premium rebate is extended to Dec. 31, from its previous end date of Sept. […] Read more



(Shadowinternet/E+/Getty Images)

Hog farmers face prolonged pain as pandemic gives way to glut

Canadian Pork Council takes new tack on AgriStability reform

Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s hog farmers face prolonged pain beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that has interrupted packing plants , as a pig glut in the U.S. holds prices low and pressures producers to downsize. Many North American hogs had nowhere to go in spring as slaughter plants suspended production due to workers becoming […] Read more