A soybean field north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 17, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

CBOT weekly outlook: The three main factors affecting soybeans

'Here at $13.60, we're 70 cents overpriced'

MarketsFarm — Soybean prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) are being pulled by three main factors, according to a trader. Ryan Ettner from Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Ill. explained that erratic weather in Brazil and Argentina is having a major effect on soybean prices, as well as Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans and […] Read more

File photo of sunset over port facilities at Odesa. (Mixarde/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine could fail to meet future wheat demand if attacks continue, UN agency warns

Report shows 31 attacks on grain facilities since mid-July

United Nations | Reuters — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that Ukraine’s wheat production may be unable to meet domestic and export demand in the years to come if Black Sea export routes remain blocked and attacks on food infrastructure continue. WFP’s Ukraine director, Matthew Hollingworth, said a forthcoming report […] Read more



Photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms/File

IGC raises world crop projections

If realized, the world wheat crop will the second largest on record

Projected worldwide wheat, corn and soybean production in 2023/24 was raised by the International Grains Council in its latest update, with better-than-expected corn yields in the United States and larger Black Sea wheat crops behind the adjustment.


A display of civilian vehicles destroyed in the war in Kyiv. Photo: Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters

Ukrainian farmers’ history of making do pays off in wartime

First person: over the past 20 months, hundreds of thousands of civillian vehicles have passed through the crucible of war

The technical arsenal of farmers who cultivate small acreages is extremely varied. They have small tillers to which trailers are attached, and tiny, sometimes homemade, tractors. Sometimes you can even see a small field being plowed with the help of horses. We still have horse-drawn carts, although this is rare. In my town, there is only one horse left. My friend keeps him at home as a pet. In his youth, my friend worked at a stable and retained his love for horses.

CBOT January 2024 soybeans with 20-day moving average (right column) and CBOT December 2023 soymeal (dark green line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, soymeal climb on demand

CBOT wheat falls; gains in soy help lift corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rallied and soymeal hit a contract high on Friday on strong demand for U.S. supplies, analysts said. U.S. soymeal exports are on their way to new highs this season after a poor soybean harvest in top soymeal exporter Argentina earlier this year. Domestic soymeal users, […] Read more


A seaport grain terminal damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes in Odesa region, Ukraine on July 19, 2023. (Photo: Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry via Facebook/Handout via Reuters)

Russia destroyed 300,000 tonnes of grain since July in attacks, Kyiv says

Port damage cuts export potential 40 per cent, deputy PM says

Kyiv | Reuters — Russia has destroyed almost 300,000 metric tonnes of grain since July in attacks on Ukraine’s port facilities and on ships, the Ukrainian government said on Friday, underscoring the war’s threat to global food security. In summer, Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black […] Read more

File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

U.N. held talks in Russia on Monday on grain, fertilizer exports

'Unimpeded access' sought for Ukrainian, Russian grain

United Nations | Reuters — Top United Nations trade official Rebeca Grynspan met with Russian officials in Moscow on Monday for talks aimed at enabling the “unimpeded access” to global markets for grain and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine, a U.N. spokesperson said. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths also attended the meetings virtually, U.N. spokesperson […] Read more