Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in degrees Celsius on Oct. 18, 2023. (NOAA.gov)

El Nino worries Brazil soy farmers as planting progresses, grain lobby says

Dry weather has pushed back planting

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Soybean farmers in top growing state Mato Grosso worry that scarce rains and high temperatures will lead to replanting of some areas while lowering yields in others, local grain farmer lobby Aprosoja-MT said Thursday. The unusual heat and dryness has been linked to the El Nino weather pattern, which is […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn futures rally to August high

Strong demand in U.S. supports CBOT soybeans

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rallied above US$5 a bushel to their highest level since August on Thursday, while soybean futures touched a four-week high. The gains came as farmers are in the middle of harvesting their crops, a time when the influx of fresh supplies normally pressures prices. A severe drought that […] Read more


File photo of locks on the Welland Canal at Allanburg, Ont. (Jimfeng/iStock/Getty Images)

Seaway workers serve strike notice

Waterway would be 'closed to all traffic' in event of strike

Five Unifor locals representing 361 workers with the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC) have served their 72 hours’ notice of a strike that could shut the waterway to grain and all other traffic just after midnight Sunday at the earliest. Unifor members represented by Locals 4211, 4212 and 4323 in Ontario and Locals 4319 […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20- and 50-day moving averages and January 2024 canola (black line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Upside seen for canola prices

'Aggressive manipulation' seen as a factor

MarketsFarm — Early gains were followed by late losses on ICE Futures’ canola market during the week ended Wednesday. The November canola contract began the week at $704.60 per tonne before rising up to $725.80/tonne on Monday, then ending the week at $711.70. The January contract went in similar directions, starting at $710.10/tonne before moving […] Read more



CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow high/low/close) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat firms on bargain buying, corn follows suit

Soybeans hit three-week high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rose for the first time in three sessions on bargain buying on Wednesday, with corn futures following, traders said. Wheat futures also gained a mid-session boost on rekindled market speculation that India, a leading wheat producer, may be tight on supplies. India raised the price at which it […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Soybeans hold firm with harvest, domestic demand in focus

Corn eases as harvest watched, wheat retreats from two-week high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures firmed for a second straight session on Tuesday amid thin technical trading, as strong domestic demand eased concerns about supplies growing as the U.S. harvest continued. Corn inched down while traders monitored the U.S. harvest progress, as investors watched Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group […] 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: Wheat down off two-week high on global demand

U.S. says soybean harvest is 62 per cent complete

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended lower on Monday after rising earlier to their highest level in more than two weeks on hopes for global demand. Corn futures also eased as traders monitored the U.S. harvest, while gains in soyoil futures helped lift the soybean market, analysts said. After trading […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

EU countries fail to agree on extending glyphosate approval

Current approval expires Dec. 15

Brussels | Reuters — European Union governments failed on Friday to give a decisive opinion on a proposal to extend by 10 years EU approval for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide. A “qualified majority” of 15 countries representing at least 65 per cent of the bloc’s population had been […] Read more

A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by farmers at Rio Pardo in Brazil’s Rondonia state on Sept. 15, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

Brazil tells landowners to stop setting fires in Amazon ‘climate emergency’

Properties could be embargoed, agency says

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government told ranchers and farmers on Friday to stop setting fire to the Amazon rainforest as clouds of dense gray smoke make the air increasingly unbreathable in the northern city of Manaus, threatening sanctions if they do burn areas of land. “Fire is not natural in the Amazon, it […] Read more