Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Britain says Russia may target civilian shipping with mines in Black Sea

Intel suggests goal is to deter Ukraine grain exports, Britain says

London | Reuters — Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including by laying them on the approach to Ukrainian ports, the British government said on Wednesday citing intelligence. Russia in July pulled out of a deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans firm, risk aversion caps gains

Corn and wheat drop, export data eyed

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures edged up on Wednesday, as a declining U.S. dollar lifted the oilseeds at one point nearly one per cent before risk aversion pushed prices back toward their opening levels. Wheat declined and corn was squeezed between them in what one strategist called a seasonal “bottoming formation” for the U.S. agriculture […] Read more


File photos of Yukon ranchland. (StockstudioX/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Building western ridge to bring warming trend

Issued Oct. 4, covering Oct. 4-10

Last week’s weather forecast played out close to what the weather models were predicting. Western regions saw cooler-than-average temperatures move in, while eastern regions saw a brief return to summer-like temperatures. This pattern was a response to an area of low pressure that spun up over the central U.S. during the second half of the […] Read more

Manitoba’s incumbent NDP ag critic Diljeet Brar and Tory ag minister Derek Johnson appeared with Green Party leader Janine Gibson and Liberal candidate Neil Stewart (l-r) on Sept. 12, 2023 at a forum hosted by the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Geralyn Wichers)

Manitoba legislature’s agriculture leaders to return under new management

NDP scores majority over incumbent Tories

Manitoba’s incumbent agriculture minister and lead opposition agriculture critic are headed back to the legislature — but under a new seating plan. Opposition leader Wab Kinew’s New Democrats are expected to form a majority government coming out of Tuesday’s provincial election, unseating incumbent premier Heather Stefanson’s Progressive Conservatives. Just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, NDP candidates […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans drop in choppy trade

Wheat futures lifted by surprise purchase from China

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Tuesday, at one point nearing their lowest levels since December of 2021, under pressure from a stronger dollar, improving signs for the U.S. harvest and a brisk start to planting in Brazil. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans settled down 0.3 per cent at $12.72-3/4 a bushel. Futures […] Read more

File photo of Lake Winnipeg at Grand Beach Provincial Park. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Wet weather for southern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan

Update issued Oct. 2, covering Oct. 2-4

The strong area of low pressure that the weather models have been forecasting to impact the eastern half of the Prairies on Tuesday and Wednesday is starting to take shape. The latest model runs show the low pushing northward into western Manitoba early on Tuesday morning and then moving off toward northwestern Ontario by late […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat up off three-year low after steep sell-off

CBOT corn rises, soybeans flat as Brazil plantings race forward

Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rebounded on Monday on what one analyst characterized as “bottom-picking” after prices dropped more than six per cent to three-year lows on Friday. Corn followed wheat higher, but soybeans prices remained low after news reports of Brazilian farmers planting at a rapid clip. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) late […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. wheat, barley production increases in 2023

MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its small grains 2023 summary on Friday, showing a 10 per cent increase in all wheat production in 2023 of 1.81 billion bushels. While oat production dipped one per cent at 57 million bushels, barley output rose six per cent at 185 million. U.S. wheat in 2023 […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat hits three-year low

Soybeans, corn drop after U.S. grain data

Reuters — Chicago wheat futures cratered more than six per cent on Friday, hitting a three-year low after U.S. government data pegged wheat production above analysts’ expectations. Soybean futures also closed sharply lower on larger-than-forecast domestic stockpiles, and the drop in both commodities dragged down corn prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated the […] Read more

File photo of barley being loaded off the combine. (Collab Media/iStock/Getty Images)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids near bottom post-harvest

Feed corn values narrowing against barley

MarketsFarm — After a better-than-expected harvest across the Canadian Prairies, feed grain prices on the region either have bottomed out or soon will, according to Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities in Saskatoon. “They’ve dropped significantly in the past three to four weeks as harvest pressure kicked off,” he said, citing feed barley going into feedlot […] Read more