EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU countries approve deal to overhaul farming subsidies

Subsidies to focus on sustainability, 'eco-schemes'

Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries on Monday gave the green light to reforms of the bloc’s huge farming subsidy program, after a three-year battle over rules to make it greener and support smaller farms. Negotiators representing the EU’s 27 countries and European Parliament struck the deal on Friday to reform the Common Agricultural […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 corn with 20- and 100-day moving averages (blue and dark green lines) and MGEX, CBOT and K.C. September 2021  wheats (black, yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT corn, soy, wheat rally as hot forecasts trump rains

MGEX September wheat also climbs

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn, soybeans and wheat rallied on Monday, with traders focused on forecasts for heat in the western U.S. Midwest that will quickly dry out soils in major production areas. “The forward forecasts have the heat that is presently over the Pacific Northwest to move over the western […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Drought sends bids higher

U.S. July wheat futures up on week

MarketsFarm — Mounting drought concerns in the spring wheat-growing regions of Canada and the U.S. saw Prairie cash bids post solid gains during the week ended Thursday. Average CWRS (13.5 per cent) wheat prices were up by $18-$21 per tonne, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola, wheat acres in opposite trends before StatsCan report

'Every commodity was offering options that were profitable'

MarketsFarm — Just days prior to Statistics Canada issuing its latest survey-based crop acreage report on Tuesday next week, analysts are estimating a rise in canola acres at the expense of wheat. “Coming through the winter and towards spring seeding, we were looking at canola prices that were at their highest levels of all time,” […] Read more


CBOT December 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and MGEX, CBOT and K.C. September 2021 wheats (black, green and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Court ruling, rains pressure corn, soy

CBOT wheat down, MGEX spring wheat up

Chicago | Reuters — Corn and soybean futures tumbled on Friday after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling bolstered a bid by small oil refineries seeking exemptions from laws requiring them to blend ethanol or other biofuels into their products, traders said. “Each time the markets start to stabilize, having priced in the latest round of […] Read more



CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and ICE November 2021 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybean futures fall after rain

Chicago corn, wheat futures both mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn soybean futures fell on Thursday, pressured by rain in key growing areas of the U.S. Midwest this week, traders said. “I think it is probably confirmation of fairly widespread rain in areas that were in really dire straits,” said Chuck Shelby, president of Risk Management Commodities. […] Read more

ICE July 2021 canola (candlesticks) with 20-day movjng average (green line), ICE November 2021 canola (yellow line) and CBOT July 2021 soybeans (black line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Weather, carryout support canola

MarketsFarm — As higher-than-normal temperatures become almost a weekly occurrence in Western Canada amidst tightening carryout stocks, canola seems primed for another extended rally. Despite rains in Western Canada over the past three weeks, providing some relief for canola crops and triggering fund liquidation on the markets, carryout remains very low, with warmer temperatures exacerbating […] Read more


MGEX September 2021 spring wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (green line) and CBOT September 2021 wheat and corn (yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies on Plains weather concerns

Chicago soybeans, corn weaker

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Wednesday, led by gains in MGEX spring wheat contracts that firmed on concerns that dry conditions in key growing areas of the northern U.S. Plains and Canada could limit the size of the harvests. Soybean futures were lower as improving crop prospects in the U.S. Midwest […] Read more

(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba dry beans in good shape

MarketsFarm — Despite temperatures ranging from near-freezing lows to sweltering highs and receiving little precipitation, Manitoba’s dry edible bean crop has weathered the conditions well, according to the province’s pulse specialist. “We’ve had some interesting weather over the last week to two weeks,” Dennis Lange, pulse specialist for Manitoba Agriculture at Altona, said, referring to […] Read more


Upcoming events