File photo of a docked grain vessel at a Black Sea port in Turkey. (Bfk92/E+/Getty Images)

Bulk ocean freight rates recover off lows

Container rates remain in downtrend

MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have shown some strength in late February, with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) recovering off two-and-a-half-year lows hit earlier in the month. The BDI, a major indicator of bulk shipping rates, has risen for seven straight sessions to settle Monday at 935 points, up from the low of 530 points […] Read more

CBOT May 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX May 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat hits lowest since September 2021

Chicago corn, soy also fall

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped 1.6 per cent to their lowest level since September 2021 on Monday as rain across key growing areas during the weekend boosted harvest prospects for the U.S. crop, traders said. Optimism that the deal allowing grain shipments from Black Sea ports in war-torn Ukraine […] Read more


A composite satellite view of Hurricane Fiona nearing Nova Scotia at about 6 p.m. local time on Sept. 23, 2022. (U.S. National Hurricane Center image, NOAA.gov)

Nova Scotia to bridge Fiona funding gap for farmers

Provincial program offering up to $400K per farm

Nova Scotia farmers who didn’t qualify for federal disaster financial assistance (DFA) in the wake of Hurricane Fiona last September may be able to get in on a new provincial program instead. The province on Thursday announced $3 million for what it calls the Fiona Agriculture Response Gap Funding program, offering up to $400,000 for […] Read more

CBOT May 2023 corn with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat hit multi-week lows on export concerns

Hopes for Black Sea export deal pressure CBOT grains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures set a six-week low on Friday while wheat hit its lowest level in more than four weeks on concern over competition for global export business, analysts said. Technical selling helped fuel the sell-off, along with prospects for robust 2023 corn production in the U.S. and […] Read more


(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Sollio books deeper loss for 2022

Olymel's fresh pork business takes biggest hit

Domestic and international market-moving events have dragged hard on the year-end bottom line for Sollio Cooperative Group, particularly in its fresh pork business. Quebec-based Sollio — which operates the ag input and farm service business Sollio Agriculture, meat packer Olymel and hardware retailer BMR — on Thursday reported full-year revenues of $8.876 billion for its […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn futures hit six-week low on projected plantings

Corn, soy, wheat prices to drop from 2022, USDA predicts

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures hit a six-week low on Thursday as the U.S. government projected farmers will plant more acres this year and prices will decline, analysts said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, at its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, pegged 2023 corn plantings at 91 million acres, up from […] Read more


CBOT March 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX March 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. March 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat nears one-month low on Black Sea competition

Chicago soybeans, corn also lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to their lowest in nearly a month on Wednesday as an Egyptian purchase tender highlighted export competition from the Black Sea region, tempering worries about war disruption to Ukrainian supplies, analysts said. Soybean futures fell on profit-taking and expectations of increasing soy export competition from Brazil, where […] Read more

ICE May 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Rising canola market runs into resistance

Resistance seen around $835, support around $820

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, but ran into some resistance to the upside as values held rangebound overall. “Technicals, short-covering, fund buying and a lack of selling,” were all providing support during the week along with spillover from advances in Chicago soyoil, according to Jamie Wilton of […] Read more


CBOT March 2023 soybeans with 20-day moving average (right column) and CBOT March 2023 soyoil (dark green line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn hit one-week highs on Argentina weather worries

Firmer U.S. dollar drags on CBOT wheat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures hit their highest in a week and soyoil touched a one-month peak on Tuesday as worries about crop prospects in drought-hit Argentina supported prices, analysts said. “It’s all about drought in Argentina… and adding more risk premium,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. “The […] Read more

(Viterra.ca)

Grain deliveries surge January over January

Data marks recovery from 2021 drought

MarketsFarm — Producer deliveries of major grains were up sharply last month when compared to January 2022, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan). At more than 5.36 million tonnes, those deliveries jumped 85 per cent when comparing January to January. The spike in deliveries reinforced the significant recovery on the Prairies from the drought in 2021. […] Read more