CBOT May 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20- and 40-day moving averages (yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy climb to multi-year highs

Tight supplies, weather woes supportive; wheat also up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures climbed to multi-year highs on Wednesday, supported by firm cash markets as old-crop supplies dwindle and weather issues threaten prospects for the 2021 harvests, analysts said. Wheat futures also rose, drawing additional support from frosty temperatures in the Plains and Midwest. Chicago Board of Trade May […] Read more

Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry via YouTube)

CGC suspends W.A. Grain’s licences to month-end

The firm, with facilities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, can't buy or sell grain in the interim

Licences for Prairie grain and pulse handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions and its primary elevators in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been suspended by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The suspensions took effect at 12:01 p.m. Tuesday, a CGC official said in an interview. “This means for a limited period of time (until April 30) […] Read more


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

CN challenges CP with Kansas City Southern bid

KCS shareholder warns U.S. regulator 'doesn't like overlap'

Reuters — Canadian National Railway said on Tuesday it had offered to buy Kansas City Southern railroad for about US$33.7 billion, sending shares of the U.S. rail company soaring as investors anticipated a bidding war with Canadian Pacific Railway. CP had agreed a deal to acquire Kansas City Southern for about $25 billion last month […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Slight adjustments in AAFC’s April supply/demand report

MarketsFarm — Updated supply and demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released Tuesday, included only minor adjustments to balance sheets for most major crops. Statistics Canada releases its first survey-based acreage estimates for the upcoming growing season on Tuesday next week (April 27), which should lead to adjustments in subsequent supply/demand projections. Canola ending […] Read more


The Canadian Grain Commission building on Main Street in Winnipeg. (File photo)

Virtual town hall on federal Grain Act set for Friday

Time is running out on consultations, but the April 23 event gives farmers a chance to provide input

The deadline for submitting comments to the federal government’s review of the Canada Grain Act and Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is April 30, but farmers can also offer feedback at a ‘virtual’ town hall meeting this Friday. The Grain Act and its regulations provide the framework for Canada’s grain quality assurance system and it’s the […] Read more

CBOT July 2021 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn tops $6 a bushel, soy at seven-year high

CBOT wheat also books life-of-contract high

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures climbed to their highest in nearly eight years on Tuesday and soybean futures neared a seven-year high as tightening supplies supported cash markets and attracted speculative buying, analysts said. Worries about dry conditions curbing corn yields in Brazil and cold weather slowing germination of the 2021 U.S. crop […] Read more


Mayo Schmidt, shown here in Winnipeg in 2007, has been named CEO of Nutrien. (Dave Bedard file photo)

Ex-Viterra chief Schmidt named Nutrien’s new CEO

Chuck Magro stepping down for 'new opportunities'

Canadian fertilizer and ag retail giant Nutrien has tapped a familiar name in agribusiness to lead the company, as the CEO it’s had since birth steps aside. Saskatoon-based Nutrien said Monday its board has named its current chairman, Mayo Schmidt, as the company’s new CEO. Replacing Schmidt as Nutrien’s chair is Russ Girling, former CEO […] Read more

CBOT May 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and December 2021 corn (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn up on weather outlook, weaker dollar

CBOT May wheat down, K.C. May wheat up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Monday, flirting with multi-year highs set last week, as forecasts for frosty weather and precipitation raised concerns about the pace of planting and germination, analysts said. A weaker dollar lent support, theoretically making U.S. grains more competitive globally. Soybeans followed corn higher, but wheat was choppy, […] Read more


Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland arrives to a news conference prior to delivering the budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 19, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Federal budget to offer direct payments to farmers for carbon pricing

Other new 'green growth' funding also on deck

The federal government’s 2021 budget offers up new spending to support farmers combatting climate change through targeted investments — and, in some cases, direct payments. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on “green growth.” “Budget 2021 announces […] Read more

Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole speaks at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 19, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Conservatives’ new climate plan puts price on carbon

New poll ranks carbon tax costs highest among farmers' springtime concerns

Canada’s ag sector is expected to serve as a carbon sink, a renewable fuel source and a beneficiary in the federal Conservative Party’s new climate change plan — which now includes putting a price on carbon. Party leader Erin O’Toole announced the new plan Thursday — after a long campaign of vehemently opposing such policy. […] Read more