(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Canadian and U.S. shippers brace for possible CP strike

Strike notice not yet given

Winnipeg | Reuters — Thousands of workers at Canada’s second-biggest railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, have threatened to strike this week, potentially disrupting the movement of grain, potash and coal at a time of soaring commodity prices. The strike is the latest risk to Canada’s battered supply chain, which last year weathered floods in British Columbia […] Read more

(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan pushes crop insurance deadline to mid-April

'Logistical challenges' led to extension

Saskatchewan farmers will get an extra couple of weeks to apply for, cancel, reinstate or change their crop insurance contracts for 2022, due to holdups in the delivery of their application packages. That deadline, originally March 31, has now been extended to April 14, provincial Ag Minister David Marit and his federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn eases on Ukraine ceasefire talks

Argentina restricts soymeal, soyoil exports

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn fell on Monday, pressured by uncertainty in the Black Sea region as talks of a ceasefire in Ukraine could open up the region to exports, though progress remains uncertain. Wheat eased early in the session, but returned to near even on news that Russia is suspending exports to protect […] Read more



File photo of a combine harvesting a wheat crop in Ukraine. (SergBob/iStock/Getty Images)

Traders consider exporting Ukraine grain by rail

Lviv | Reuters — Traders are trying to arrange the export of Ukrainian-origin grain by train through western Ukraine’s borders, but the export capacities are very limited, APK-Inform agriculture consultancy said Friday. Ukraine’s state-run railway operator said this week it was ready to organize agricultural exports by rail as a matter of urgency after closure […] Read more

The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA opens inquiry into fertilizer, seed prices

Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening an inquiry into the impacts of concentration in the fertilizer, seed and retail markets. The inquiry stems from the Biden administration’s July 2021 executive order to promote competition across the U.S. economy, the agency said in a release Friday. Global supply chain problems and inflation have […] Read more


Drought conditions in Canada at Feb. 28, 2022. (Map courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Most of Prairies still very dry, but recovery possible

Southern Manitoba considered out of drought

MarketsFarm — Despite the Prairies receiving above-normal amounts of precipitation during February, the great majority of the region remained highly vulnerable to more dryness going into spring, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. The monitor’s latest report showed those areas of the Prairies tackling extreme drought to have retracted somewhat. As of Feb. 28, that […] Read more

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G7 ag ministers urge end to food export curbs as prices surge

Nations warn against 'speculative behaviour'

Hamburg | Reuters — Global food exporting countries should not restrict food exports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut world supplies, agriculture ministers of the G7 group of nations said on Friday. The impact on markets escalated this week as a growing list of food producing countries restricted exports, keeping vital supplies within their borders. […] 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