Fall rye flowering in south-central Manitoba. (Allan Dawson photo)

Rye in strong position going into 2022

MarketsFarm — Last summer’s drought sharply reduced yields of many crops across the Prairies, leaving multiple supply challenges and rising prices in the aftermath. Western Canadian rye, however, was largely left unscathed, which may bode well for the crop heading into 2022. Rye production came in at 473,000 tonnes for 2021-22, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn up; soy down

'Panic... seems to have subsided a bit'

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday after posting sharp declines in the previous two sessions as traders assessed the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has disrupted grain shipments. Trading in wheat remained volatile as market participants wrestled with the possible extent of disruption of wheat from Ukraine and […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX May 2022 wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat plummets 9.5 per cent

Corn, soybeans rise on strong exports

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Thursday, with the most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract plunging 9.5 per cent as traders said the rally sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had made the grain too expensive for potential buyers. “The market is pausing to catch its breath a […] Read more

Anti-tank ‘hedgehogs’ are seen in Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on March 9, 2022. Farmers are among those assembling the obstacles, set up to block roads against advancing armoured vehicles. (Yevhen Kotenko/Ukrinform/Abacapress.com via Reuters)

Bread and war: Farmers in the fight for Ukraine

Agriculture, being the most important industry in Ukraine, will play a large part in the war, a Ukrainian ag journalist writes

It is very difficult to explain what a person feels when they’re awakened at 5 a.m., when a rocket explodes near their house. That’s exactly what I experienced Feb. 24. The first thing I did was fill my car with gasoline. Then we bought a lot of products we thought we might need — medicines […] Read more


soil test

How to develop sulphur fertilizer recommendations

Here’s how to take samples, interpret soil test results and more

In recent Grainews issues, I have discussed developing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizer recommendations. I will continue with this theme and discuss developing sulphur (S) fertilizer recommendations in this column. Sulphur deficiency was first observed in Alberta more than 90 years ago on grey wooded soils. Over the past 30 years, sulphur […] Read more

Grain storage at a Russian seaport. (Pridannikov/iStock/Getty Images)

Moscow retaliates against sanctions with export bans

Reuters — Russia sought on Thursday to retaliate against Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine by banning exports of certain goods and agricultural commodities. Exporting telecom, medical, auto, agricultural, electrical and tech equipment, as well as some forestry products, will be banned until the end of 2022. “These measures are a logical response […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Wheat futures limit down as USDA cuts exports

Corn pressured by oil prices, soybeans pare gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures hit their daily trading limit on the downside for the second straight day on Wednesday, as the U.S. government cut domestic wheat exports and global markets continue to be roiled by supply disruptions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soybean futures turned lower after the U.S. Department of […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures down off rally

Corn firm, soybeans strong

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell Tuesday, snapping a six-session winning streak, as the market wrestled with supply upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of fellow grain exporter Ukraine. Wheat prices hit the downside of their daily trading limits during the session but closed well above those lows after Interfax news agency said Russian […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat limit up to 14-year highs

CBOT May corn, soybeans down

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures gapped higher on Monday, notching a limit-up move as it neared an all-time high on concerns that global supply shipments will be disrupted until the Russia-Ukraine conflict is resolved. European wheat has already hit record highs as deepening Western sanctions against Russia fuelled concerns about exports from the […] Read more