(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Red Deer hog plant books first COVID case

One employee confirmed with virus, 13 isolating as precaution, company says

A major Prairie hog slaughter and processing plant relatively untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic has marked its first case of the coronavirus in a production line worker. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, said an employee who reported for work Monday last week at its Red Deer, Alta. plant began showing […] Read more



(USDA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. farmers to harvest record-large corn crop, second-largest soy crop, USDA says

Estimates don't include impact of recent Midwest storm

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers will reap their biggest corn harvest and their second biggest soybean harvest this fall as good summer weather shepherded the crops through key phases of development, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. The crop outlooks, which also included average yields for both corn and soybeans as the largest […] Read more

(Lisa Guenther photo)

CBOT weekly outlook: WASDE largely neutral for soy, corn

MarketsFarm — The world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had a “benign effect” on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to one trader. That’s mainly because U.S. production estimates for corn, wheat, and soybeans were largely unchanged. The U.S. soybean production estimate for 2020-21 was unchanged […] Read more


Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council chair and Exceldor vice-president Joel Cormier addresses the Commons standing committee on agriculture on May 29. (Video screengrab from Parl.gc.ca)

COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors

Sales crashed on lack of foodservice business

Ottawa — Chicken Farmers of Canada say they’ve faced a “sharp decline” in sales as a result of a significant drop in food services, which represents roughly 40 per cent of their market. CFC chair Benoît Fontaine warned federal MPs as much during a virtual meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. corn production expected way up in USDA’s May WASDE

MarketsFarm — There will be sharp increases in the United States’ 2020-21 corn production — and especially in ending stocks, according to the latest monthly supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The department issued its latest world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) on Tuesday. U.S. soybean planted acres and […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Pandemic to delay StatsCan’s agriculture reports

MarketsFarm — Farmers, commodity traders and market analysts will have to wait a while for agriculture-related reports from Statistics Canada in 2020. The main reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Seay, an analyst with StatsCan’s agriculture, energy, environment and transportation statistics branch in Ottawa. “Given the COVID-19 outbreak, senior management is […] Read more

Bulk wheat being loaded on a ship in a Russian port. (YGrek/iStock/Getty Images)

Global grain production to increase, IGC predicts

MarketsFarm — The International Grains Council (IGC) issued projections Thursday calling for a slight increase in total global grain production for the current marketing year and for 2020-21. The U.K.-based council forecast world production at 2.175 billion tonnes, which would be an increase of three million tonnes from its February report. The IGC said that’s […] Read more