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

U.S. grains: Wheat climbs on winterkill worries

Corn, soy firm on South American dryness

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures climbed on Wednesday, as forecasts for temperatures well below freezing across the U.S. Midwest threatened winter crops heading into the holiday weekend. Corn and soybeans inched higher, supported by firmer wheat and weather conditions in South America. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy

Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee

The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March […] Read more


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Environment Canada sees ‘average’ Prairie winter ahead

MarketsFarm — An ‘average’ winter is in the forecast for most of the Canadian Prairies, according to the latest long-range seasonal forecast for December through February from Environment Canada, released Wednesday. The government department is calling for normal temperatures across all the agricultural areas of the three Prairie provinces — aside from the northernmost reaches […] Read more

Drought expands across western Prairies

Drought expands across western Prairies

MarketsFarm — Drought conditions expanded across Alberta and Saskatchewan in October, with very little precipitation across the agricultural regions of the two provinces since August. That’s according to the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as of Oct. 31. At the end of that month, 72 per cent of the Prairie region […] Read more


U.S. special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry and Agriculture Sectretary Tom Vilsack applaud U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at the COP27 climate summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Nov. 11, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Farm climate innovation commitments at COP27 double to US$8 billion

Agriculture could outpace other industries to net zero: Vilsack

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Reuters — An initiative led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates to help agriculture adapt to climate change and reduce emissions through innovation has doubled investment commitments to US$8 billion and extended its reach, it said on Friday. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was […] Read more



A wheat field near the village of Zhovtneve, Ukraine in 2016.  Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko/File

Ukraine keeps 2023 winter wheat sowing area forecast unchanged despite delays

Kyiv | Reuters – Ukraine is keeping its forecast of the winter wheat sowing area for the 2023 harvest unchanged at 3.8 million hectares despite a delay caused by unfavourable weather, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters on Tuesday. Ukraine sowed more than 6 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2022 harvest, but […] Read more

An office of a 50-hectare rice farm is submerged in floodwater from the Benue river at Makurdi in central Nigeria on Oct. 1 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

Nigeria’s flooding spreads to Delta, upending lives, livelihoods

Over a million acres of farmland damaged, wrecked

Rivers State, Nigeria | Reuters — People wade through fast-flowing water, holding one another to avoid being swept away, balancing suitcases, clothing and food on their heads. The torrent was, until recently, the East-West Road in Nigeria’s Rivers state, the gateway to the nation’s oil and gas. Now parts of Rivers, along with large swathes […] Read more


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Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba’s dry beans, peas show strong yields

MarketsFarm — With the return of typical temperatures and healthy amounts of precipitation throughout the growing season, Manitoba had successful pea and dry bean crops during the 2022-23 marketing year, according to the province’s pulse specialist. Dennis Lange of Manitoba Agriculture said both crops showed high yields from their respective harvests. The Manitoba pea harvest […] Read more

Gary Millershaski, a farmer and scout on the Wheat Quality Council’s Kansas wheat tour, inspects winter wheat stunted by drought near Syracuse, about 170 km west of Dodge City, on May 18, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Julie Ingwersen)

U.S. winter wheat growers seed into dust as Plains drought persists

Chicago | Reuters — With seeding roughly halfway complete, the 2023 U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is already being hobbled by drought in the heart of the southern Plains, wheat experts said. Seeding plans may be scaled back in the U.S. breadbasket despite historically high prices for this time of year, reflecting rising global […] Read more