CBOT May 2021 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures rally on export strength

Chicago wheat, soybeans rise

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose 1.9 per cent to a one-week high on Monday, recovering from overnight weakness after a U.S. government report showed that export demand for the grain remained high. Soybean and wheat futures also were firm after trading in negative territory during the overnight session. A weekly U.S. Agriculture […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Farmland appreciation continues through pandemic year

FCC report puts Canada's average land value increase at 5.4 per cent

Economic churn across Canada from the global COVID-19 pandemic didn’t faze the country’s real estate market — nor its farmland market in particular — in 2020, according to the latest review from the federal farm lending agency. Farm Credit Canada on Monday released its 2020 Farmland Values report, showing an average increase of 5.4 per […] Read more


CBOT May 2021 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Storms forecast for Plains drive wheat to one-month low

Corn up, soybeans down, soymeal drops

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures extended losses on Friday, touching a one-month low as rain and snow forecast for dry parts of the U.S. Plains improved production prospects, analysts said. Soybean futures finished narrowly mixed, caught between surging soyoil futures amid tightening world vegetable oil supplies, and slowing demand for soymeal, a hog […] Read more



Grain being loaded on a ship at the Hudson Bay port of Churchill in 2015. (MarketsFarm photo by Jade Markus)

Port of Churchill moves to 100 per cent local ownership

Corporate partners step out of owner group

MarketsFarm — The Port of Churchill is undergoing an ownership transition that will see its OneNorth community and Indigenous partners assume 100 per cent ownership of the Hudson Bay port and the rail line connecting it to northwestern Manitoba. The Churchill Marine Tank Farm and associated assets are also part of the deal, according to […] Read more

CBOT May 2021 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat down on forecasts for Plains moisture

CBOT soybeans and corn both end higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to a one-month low on Thursday, pressured by forecasts for welcome moisture in the southern U.S. Plains crop belt that should boost wheat production prospects, traders said. But soybean and corn futures ended higher, supported by South American supply worries and soaring global vegetable oil prices. Chicago […] Read more


Workers prepare foodstuffs at a food distribution centre supported by the World Food Program at Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, on June 3, 2020. File photo: Reuters/Khaled Abdullah

U.N. counts cost of ‘man-made’ famines

US$400 for a plate of rice and beans?

New York | Reuters — Nearly 30 years ago a malnourished two-year-old girl died in front of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a refugee camp in northern Uganda. Two days ago U.N. food chief David Beasley met a starving five-month-old girl at a hospital in Yemen — she died on Thursday. […] Read more

CBOT May 2021 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy sag on profit-taking after USDA data

Midwest's winter wheat entering key growth phase

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures each fell about two per cent on Wednesday, a day after monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts failed to offer fresh bullish news, freeing traders to book profits following recent multi-year highs, analysts said. Wheat futures also declined, following the trend, with beneficial moisture expected […] Read more


CBOT May 2021 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat and soy climb, corn sags after USDA data

U.S. dollar's retreat also supportive

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose more than one per cent on Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a monthly report lowered its forecast of global wheat inventories, analysts said. Corn futures declined on a surprise increase in USDA’s forecast of world corn stocks, while soybean futures firmed after a choppy […] Read more

Winter wheat grower Doug Martin has been trying a balanced fertility approach based on soil test recommendations on his farm.

How to break through the winter wheat yield ceiling

It takes a balanced fertility approach

Winter wheat yields in Manitoba over the past few years have been in the 60 to 70 bushel per acre range, but many varieties have a much higher yield potential — more than 100 bu/ac. What can western Canadian farmers do to break through that yield ceiling? Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has a long association […] Read more