An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

Vilsack hopes fertilizer firms don’t take advantage of Ukraine crisis

Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday he hoped fertilizer and agriculture supply companies affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not take unfair advantage of the situation, amid already-high fertilizer and crop prices. Fertilizer costs have soared due to rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and […] Read more

Buhler Industries board member Konstantin Babkin, shown here at left with the company’s then-president Dmitry Lyubimov during a visit to the company’s facility in Winnipeg in 2007, is seen as particularly vulnerable to sanction from Canada. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Equipment maker Buhler distances self from Ukraine invasion

A Winnipeg farm equipment manufacturer is distancing itself from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Buhler Industries, which manufactures the Versatile tractor line and Farm King equipment, is majority-owned by the Russian firm Combine Factory Rostselmash. That firm purchased an 80 per cent stake in Buhler in 2007 and boosted that to 97 per cent ownership in […] Read more


Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, deployed to Poland to reassure NATO allies, train at an airbase near Arlamow at southeastern Poland’s border with Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Kacper Pempel)

CBOT weekly outlook: Russia-Ukraine tensions fuelling rallies

MarketsFarm — Russia’s incursion into Ukrainian territory, which has intensified an already tense standoff between Russia and the West, has had a bullish effect for grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) during the week ended Tuesday, according to Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodity Brokers at Lake Barrington, Ill. The March corn contract […] Read more

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

With fertilizer costs high and seed scarce, U.S. farmers turn to soy

'These prices are just crazy'

Chicago | Reuters — North Dakota farmer Jennifer Meyer typically devotes at least 20 per cent of her 2,500-acre farm to corn, which provides a convenient feed for the cattle she raises with her husband. But this year she is looking to find another crop for those 500 acres near Wilton as she has been […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with K.C. May 2022 wheat (yellow O/H/L/C) and MGEX May 2022 wheat (orange O/H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, soybeans touch nine-year peaks

Concerns about disrupted Black Sea region exports lift markets

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures climbed to a more than nine-year peak on Wednesday and corn notched a fresh eight-month high as escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions threatened to disrupt supplies from the key Black Sea grain-exporting region. Soybean futures rallied to a 9-1/2 year peak as the conflict also put Black Sea sunflower oil […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Rising Russia-Ukraine tensions stoke rallies

Most-active CBOT wheat books biggest daily jump in 3-1/2 years

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures surged six per cent on Tuesday in the steepest daily jump in 3-1/2 years while corn rallied three per cent on worries that an escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine could disrupt grain flows from the key Black Sea export region. Soybeans climbed to a […] Read more


CBOT March 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, light green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures extend winning streak

CBOT wheat ends mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures rose for the third day in a row on Friday on concerns about harvests in Brazil and Argentina limiting production. Wheat futures were mixed, with concerns about potential Russian aggression against Ukraine disrupting the shipment of wheat from the key export region sending […] Read more

Nutrien’s potash mine at Lanigan, Sask., about 100 km southeast of Saskatoon. (Nutrien.com)

Nutrien takes cautious potash approach as rival copes with sanctions

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer company, is bumping up potash production as sanctions restrict its rival in Belarus, but is holding off on bigger expansion, its interim CEO said on Thursday. Potash prices have climbed to decade highs as state-owned Belaruskali, the second-largest producer after Nutrien, copes with U.S. and […] Read more


CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-m 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rises on Ukraine-Russia tensions

Corn, soybean futures end firm

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose 2.2 per cent on Thursday, supported by rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia and expectations that war between the two export countries could improve demand for U.S. supplies, traders said. Soybeans and corn futures closed in positive territory after trading both sides of unchanged, with concerns about […] Read more