CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, Minneapolis July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago grains flat or down with weather, Black Sea in focus

Large Russian supplies temper fears over Black Sea deal collapse

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grain futures closed flat or lower on Tuesday, with wheat hitting a 21-month low, as markets were weighed down by a dip in stocks and crude oil and clear forecasts for U.S. planting weather, traders said. Corn closed slightly up as the market weighed increasing export competition from Brazil, […] Read more

Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in degrees Celsius over the tropical Pacific Ocean for the week centred on April 12, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

New record highs 'more likely than not'

Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more


ICE July 2023 canola with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Weather to influence canola price movement

Short-covering seen supporting front months for now

MarketsFarm — Canola contracts on the ICE Futures platform held relatively rangebound during the week ended Wednesday, trading within a $20 per tonne range in most months as market participants wait to get a better handle on new-crop prospects. “There’s some concern developing on seeding delays,” said Jamie Wilton of RJ O’Brien in Winnipeg, adding […] Read more

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Weather, demand affect grain prices

Wheat 'up and down' on Black Sea uncertainty

MarketsFarm — Severe weather in the U.S. as well as macroeconomic factors at home and abroad affected grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for the week ended Wednesday. Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in Chicago said wet and cool weather across the U.S. Plains, Midwest and corn belt, as well as […] Read more


File photo of soybeans being loaded for transport in Argentina. (Wirestock/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina soybeans expected to go from horrible to great

El Nino expected to improve growing conditions

MarketsFarm — While Argentina is headed to one of its worst soybean harvests in decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in Buenos Aires projects a huge turnaround in 2023-24. Argentina is the world’s third-largest grower of soybeans — a fair amount less than Brazil and the U.S., but a lot more than other […] Read more

File photo of a soybean field in Argentina. (Federico Weyland/iStock/Getty Images)

Vast tracts of drought-hit Argentine soy fields seen going unharvested

Yet more cuts to production possible

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina’s Buenos Aires grains exchange on Thursday said farmers would likely leave large tracts of soy fields unharvested due to damage from a historic drought, which could lead to more cuts to its 25 million-tonne production forecast. Argentina is the world’s top exporter of soybean oil and meal, but its […] Read more


Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, in degrees Celsius, for the week centred on April 5, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

U.S. forecaster sees 62 per cent chance of El Nino developing during May-July

Argentina, parts of U.S. could benefit; Asian crops may not

Reuters — A U.S. weather forecaster on Thursday predicted a 62 per cent chance of the El Niño phenomenon developing in the Northern Hemisphere during May-July, and a strong chance toward end-year, likely compounding risks to crops across the globe. “The coastal warming in the eastern Pacific may foreshadow changes across the Pacific basin. Therefore, […] Read more

CBOT May 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago futures lower on U.S. weather outlooks

Traders keep eye on warming trend for northern states

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago corn futures closed lower on Wednesday after a day of ups and downs on improved weather outlooks for planting season in the U.S. and market readjustments from technically oversold positions, traders said. The prospect of a drier, warmer spell boosting spring field work in the northern farm belt that […] Read more



File photo of black beans. (Nhattienphoto/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: For growers, spring still far away

Just 'minor changes' expected in Manitoba acres

MarketsFarm — Springtime still seems distant for southern Manitoba as snow remains and freezing temperatures persist. However, provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange said current conditions are setting up well for seeding after temperatures rise and snow melts. “We’re still a little ways off. There are still snow drifts in the fields in most areas of […] Read more