BNSF crews clear track near Lemmon, S.D., about 300 km northeast of Rapid City, in late December 2016. (BNSF.com)

Biggest U.S. rail union rejects tentative deal, raising threat of strike

Union digs in on paid sick time

Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters — Workers at the largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September, raising the possibility of a year-end strike that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy and strand vital shipments of food and fuel. Train and engine service members of the transportation division of […] Read more

Wagyu beef on skewers at a Tokyo market. (Michal_Staniewski/iStock/Getty Images)

Feds pledge agriculture office for Indo-Pacific export support

Ottawa aims to tighten ties with region

Updated Nov. 23 — Canada’s latest round of federal efforts to boost economic ties with the Indo-Pacific region will include its first dedicated agriculture and agri-food office in the region. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tour through the region last week included a pledge of $31.8 million over five years for a regional agriculture office, to […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Soy firms on bargain buying but posts weekly decline

December wheat ends down, corn up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Friday on bargain buying after a two-session slide, but still ended the week down about one per cent on uncertainty about demand from China, traders said. Wheat futures turned lower, retreating from early advances, with the benchmark December contract on the Chicago Board of Trade declining […] 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


File photo of steam rising from the top of a grain dryer. (Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

New farm fuel carbon tax rule to return to Commons

Further carbon pricing exemptions clear ag committee, with sunset clause added

A bill that would exempt more farm fuels from Canada’s federal carbon pricing scheme has cleared the Commons’ ag committee and returned to the House of Commons to seek a third and final vote. C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by southwestern Ontario Conservative MP Ben Lobb, appeared before the Commons’ standing committee on agriculture […] Read more

Grain ships carrying Ukrainian grain are seen in the Black Sea, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near Ukrainian port of Odesa, Ukraine Oct. 30, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Serhii Smolientsev)

Black Sea grain export deal extended

Deal's terms unchanged; Moscow to still seek removal of obstacles to grain, fertilizer exports

Reuters — A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by helping Ukraine export its agricultural products from Black Sea ports was extended for four months on Thursday, though Russia said its own demands were yet to be fully addressed. The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected transit corridor and was designed to […] Read more


CBOT December 2022 soft red winter wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (green line), MGEX December 2022 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2022 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat sags on Black Sea export deal extension

Chicago corn turns higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures dropped to a 2-1/2-month low on Thursday after the United Nations announced an agreement to extend a grain corridor for exports from war-torn Ukraine. Soybean futures fell on worries about demand as top global buyer China struggles with COVID-19 lockdowns. But corn turned higher as strong weekly U.S. […] Read more

One Canada Square (tower at centre) houses the London head office of the International Grains Council. (Iliffd/iStock/Getty Images)

IGC makes small alterations to monthly report

MarketsFarm — There was very little in the way of changes in the November supply and demand report from the International Grain Council (IGC). The most notable alteration made by the London-based global organization was its four million-tonne reduction to 2022-23 wheat ending stocks, now at 282 million tonnes. The IGC lowered exports from 70 […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: More corn, oats in feed rations

'Very weird situation to be seeing again'

MarketsFarm — As prices for feed barley and wheat increase, more feedlots are turning to corn, according to Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. at Edmonton. “A lot of places are switching to corn. The desirability of feed barley has been coming down,” she said. “So it will be interesting to see which way the […] Read more