Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell 2.9 per cent to their lowest in more than four years on Friday, matching a similar low in Paris wheat futures, as a global supply glut overwhelmed demand and pressured prices. “Nearly every session wheat futures establish new contract lows, as supplies around the world are ample, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, soybeans, corn fall sharply as supplies build
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures end mixed before USDA report
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled mixed on Friday on positioning before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle-On-Feed report. Analysts expect the data at 2 p.m. CT to show fewer cattle were placed in feedyards last month due to sufficient pastures that allowed ranchers to fatten livestock longer outside […] Read more
Deere chain to pick up four S. Alta. dealerships
A southern Alberta group of John Deere farm equipment dealerships is set to become part of the Cervus Equipment chain. Calgary-based Cervus, which owns the largest group of Deere farm equipment dealerships in Canada, announced an agreement Thursday to buy up all shares in Evergreen Equipment, the owner of Deere dealerships in Bassano, Brooks, Drumheller […] Read more
CP meeting federal grain shipment targets
Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has met the minimum weekly grain volumes mandated by the federal government, the railway said Thursday, a day after Transport Canada said it would fine Canadian National Railway (CN) for falling short. CP spokeswoman Breanne Feigel said in an email that the railway had cleared the minimum volumes to […] Read more
U.S. launches task force to tackle antibiotic-resistant bugs
Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. government will set up a task force and presidential advisory council to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance to national security, setting a Feb. 15 deadline for the outlining of specific steps to be taken, White House advisers said at a press conference Thursday. The White House announced […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Weak cash price outlook drops CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle settled lower on Thursday in anticipation of packers spending less for market-ready, or cash, cattle this week, traders said. October live cattle futures finished 1.425 cents per pound lower at 155.6 cents, and December at 158.925 cents down 1.075 cents (all figures US$). Processors may cut […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat fall to lowest since 2010
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures fell 1.1 per cent to their lowest in more than four years on Thursday as farmers resumed harvesting in parts of the U.S. Midwest as fields began to dry out, traders said. Wheat and corn futures fell too, with wheat also hitting its lowest since July 2010, due […] Read more
CP challenging extended rail interswitching rules
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) wants the courts to shoot down new federal rules that allow more Prairie elevators to move loaded grain cars on more than one railway, the Manitoba Co-operator reports. The Canadian Transportation Agency rules, launched in tandem with the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act passed in May, are the target of an action […] Read more
Incoming Alta. premier taps ex-MPs to push for market access
Boosting market access for Alberta’s agricultural wares and other exports is expected to loom large on the new provincial premier’s radar. Jim Prentice, sworn in Monday as premier, kept Wetaskiwin-Camrose MLA Verlyn Olson as his minister of agriculture and rural development, and reappointed Jason Krips as deputy minister for the department. Prentice, in his mandate […] Read more
Manitoba edible bean yields ‘all over the board’
CNS Canada — Harvest of edible beans is underway in parts of Manitoba, with yields reported as variable so far. Yields on pinto beans have been reported as anywhere between 1,500 and 1,800 kilograms per hectare so far, with a range of 2,000-2,100 kg/ha on kidney and cranberry beans, according to Dennis Lange, farm production […] Read more