CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat futures surge on lower-than-expected stocks

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures soared on Wednesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture surprised traders by reporting crop inventories that were smaller than expected. Supply levels have declined after China, the world’s top soybean importer, stepped up its purchases of U.S. farm goods this summer. Corn supplies […] Read more



CBOT December 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy ease as harvest advances

USDA quarterly stocks data awaited

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures closed lower on Tuesday on expectations of rapid harvest progress this week and a slowdown in demand from China, a big buyer of U.S. soybeans and corn, in recent weeks, analysts said. Wheat futures also fell but declines in all three commodities were muted as traders […] Read more


Cabbage seedpod weevil.

Prairie Pest Monitoring Network launches website

The new website predicts insect risks, monitors insect populations and offers information on scouting, chemical controls and more

The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN) launched a new website last July at Prairiepest.ca. The PPMN is a Prairie-wide insect pest monitoring group that provides valuable information, predicts insect risks, monitors insect populations and offers information to growers and agronomists to help them scout for pests, time their scouting activities, and make decisions about using […] Read more

CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans end down on harvest pressure

Chicago corn, wheat futures climb

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Monday on the outlook for favourable harvest weather in the heart of the Midwest, where producers are poised to sell soybeans and store their corn, analysts said. Traders were also squaring positions ahead of quarterly grain stocks reports due midweek from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. […] Read more


The White Pass border crossing between Alaska and northwestern British Columbia, about 25 km north of Skagway, Alaska. The proposed A2A line would largely skirt B.C. en route from Alberta to Alaska. (Thierry64/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump-backed Canadian railway to Alaska faces high hurdles

Proponents say line could move grain, fertilizer as well as oil

Winnipeg/Washington | Reuters — A private-sector proposal endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a railway from Canada’s oil sands to ports in Alaska would free landlocked crude but faces numerous steep challenges. Trump wrote on Twitter over the weekend that he would issue a permit for the Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A Rail) […] Read more

File photo of rye at a grain market in India. (Deepak Sethi/E+/Getty Images)

India’s controversial farm bills become law despite protests

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s president on Sunday approved three controversial agricultural bills amid nationwide protests by farmers who say the new laws will stunt their bargaining power and instead allow large retailers to have control over pricing. Farmers’ organizations say one of the three laws could lead to the government stopping buying grain […] Read more


One Canada Square (tower at centre) houses the London head office of the International Grains Council. (Iliffd/iStock/Getty Images)

Little variation seen in global grain supply and demand data

MarketsFarm — Few significant changes appear in the latest monthly supply and demand report from the International Grains Council (IGC), which released its estimates Thursday. The IGC slightly nudged its estimate of total world grain production from its August estimate of 2.23 billion to September’s 2.227 billion tonnes. The September forecast is 2.1 per cent […] Read more

File photo of Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaking to media in Winnipeg in March 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada not benefiting from CETA, Bibeau says

Ex-premiers write to Ottawa with critique of EU's continued trade barriers

Canada is not benefiting from the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union (EU), federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau grants. Expected to spur $1.5 billion in new agri-food exports, the free trade deal has fallen short of those targets since its implementation in 2017. In a letter Monday to Prime Minister Justin […] Read more