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

U.S. grains: Soybeans touch two-year high on dry weather

Wheat up with prices in Russia, Ukraine

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures hit their highest prices in more than two years on Monday before paring gains, as dry weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest is expected to damage the condition of crops, analysts said. Wheat futures set a four-month high, while corn futures retreated after touching their highest price […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans, wheat rally

'We absolutely need heavy rainfall in a lot of areas'

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures jumped 1.8 per cent on Thursday to their highest in 7-1/2 months, with forecasts for dry weather in the U.S. Midwest threatening to hinder the crop throughout its late stages of development, traders said. “We absolutely need heavy rainfall in a lot of areas,” said […] Read more





CBOT November 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up with exports, corn up slightly on dry weather

Big expected Russian, Canadian crops weaken wheat

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures rose on Monday as a spate of new-crop soybean export sales eased concerns about forecasts of huge harvests across the U.S. Midwest. Corn futures were buoyed by dryness in top corn-producing states, as weekend rainfall missed drought-stricken parts of western Iowa. Meanwhile, wheat futures slipped on estimates for […] Read more

More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

Final list released for 2019 tax year

More ranchers who were up against a dry 2019 may now be eligible to defer some income from their livestock sales for the income tax year. The federal government on Tuesday released the “final list” of designated regions where income tax deferral on sales of breeding livestock has been authorized for 2019. In a prescribed […] Read more


Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River on Zimbabwe’s northwestern border with Zambia. (CIA.gov)

Zimbabwe says grain stocks running out after drought

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe has only 100,000 tonnes of grain in its strategic reserves, enough to last just over a month, as the southern African nation suffers the effects of a severe drought, according to the agriculture minister. More than half the country’s population faces food shortages after maize harvests halved last year. The […] Read more

File photo of cattle seeking shade in Namibia. (Brytta/iStock/Getty Images)

Namibia looks to import cattle as drought decimates herds

Windhoek | Reuters — Namibian state-owned meat processing and marketing firm Meatco is in talks with neighbour Botswana to import cattle, as severe drought decimates local herds and threatens beef export deals with China and European countries. The southern African desert nation moved closer to famine last month after dam levels fell below 20 per […] Read more


Australia is suffering from a third year of drought, resulting in a deep reduction in agriculture output.  Photo: Thinkstock

Australia drought cuts IGC global wheat crop outlook

London | Reuters – The International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday trimmed its forecast for global wheat production in the 2019/20 season as the outlook for Australia’s crop dimmed. In its monthly update, the inter-governmental body cut its global wheat production projection by 2 million tonnes to 762 million tonnes. The wheat crop in Australia […] Read more

Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil on Aug. 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

South America fires could disrupt its farm belt’s rainfall

Santa Cruz | Reuters — Forest fires that swept across Bolivia and Brazil this year could disrupt rainfall distribution across South America’s grains-and-beef producing regions in unpredictable ways for years to come, a scientist and meteorologist said. Recent rains in both countries have helped put out the wildfires, which were likely started by farmers and […] Read more