Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Balance sheet tightening

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea and lentil production failed to live up to earlier projections, according to the latest survey data from Statistics Canada. While both crops are still forecast to be above their year-ago levels, the tightening supply expectations should underpin prices. Canada’s 2019-20 lentil crop was pegged at 2.17 million tonnes in the government […] Read more

Covantis developers said they met with industry stakeholders in Brazil in October to discuss how their system would apply in soybean traffic between Brazil and China. (Covantis.io)

Major grain traders’ e-transaction platform gets name

The blockchain-based global commodity transaction platform being developed by six of the world’s biggest agrifood firms is moving ahead with a new name and project leader. The six companies — ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Cofco and Glencore Agriculture — announced Wednesday the project will be named Covantis, and have hired former ADM executive Stefano […] Read more


Neil Townsend (left) of FarmLink and Jason Newton of Nutrien discuss farm consolidation at the Grain World conference in Saskatoon on Nov. 28, 2019. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Grain World: Farm consolidation key to increasing yields

Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Consolidating farms — going from numerous small operations to fewer, but much larger, farms — is central to improving crop yields, according to grain industry observers Neil Townsend and Jason Newton. Townsend is the chief market analyst for FarmLink Marketing Solutions, while Newton is the chief economist and head of marketing […] Read more

(JimPattison.com)

Pattison to shut one Saskatchewan Deere dealership

Pattison Agriculture’s chain of Deere ag equipment dealerships in Saskatchewan and Manitoba is preparing to cut one link. The Prairie farm equipment sales and service arm of B.C.’s Jim Pattison Group announced Tuesday on its website and social media it will permanently close its dealership at Foam Lake, Sask. effective Dec. 31. The Pattison store […] Read more


There are great opportunities for Canadian pulses, not only as commodity exports, but as food products, AGT CEO Murad Al-Katib says. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Grain World: Opportunities great for Canadian pulses, AGT CEO says

Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — To Murad Al-Katib, the opportunities for Canadian pulse exports to India are amazing, provided one correctly understands the context of India’s tariffs on pulses. Also, he said, those Canadian exporters must realize they need to switch from being solely dependent on commodities to adding value by shipping food and ingredients. “We […] Read more

(AGTFoods.com)

Grain World: AGT books eventful 2019

Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — This year has been a watershed year for AGT Food and Ingredients, the company’s CEO Murad Al-Katib told the Grain World conference in Saskatoon. AGT was delisted from the TSX earlier in 2019, as Al-Katib moved to take the company private after 12 years of being publicly traded. Its new ownership […] Read more


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

CN strike to weigh on railway’s 2019 profit

Reuters — Canadian National Railway on Tuesday cut its adjusted profit growth target for 2019, citing shipment delays from the country’s largest rail strike in a decade that ended last week. Shares in CN, which counts billionaire Bill Gates’ investment firm as its biggest shareholder, fell almost two per cent in morning trading in both […] Read more

Jason Shapiro at Grain World. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Grain World: Geopolitics is back dominating global relations

Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Geopolitics is again shaping the international scene, including China, Jason Shapiro explained here Thursday at the Grain World conference. Geopolitics, he said, resulted in catastrophic global wars and generated very little peace for close to a century. Shapiro, director of analysis for Geopolitical Futures — an Austin, Tex.-based international risk analysis […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

CN kicks off recovery after eight-day strike

Reuters –– Canadian National Railway on Thursday said it was putting a recovery plan in place while ramping up operations after the country’s biggest rail strike in a decade. The eight-day-long work stoppage at Canada’s largest railroad sent shocks through the country’s economy with grain and propane shipments scuttled. The strike by about 3,200 conductors […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus’ oilseed processing plant at Yorkton, Sask. (LDC.com)

Dreyfus to cut costs amid trade jitters, swine fever

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Agricultural commodities giant Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has launched a cost-cutting and reorganization drive in the face of difficulties confronting global trading houses, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. LDC confirmed the memo’s authenticity in a statement, saying the company aimed to optimize its cost base […] Read more