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)

Fiona pounds Bermuda as Canada braces for major jolt

Up to eight inches of rain expected along path

Hamilton, Bermuda/Halifax, N.S. | Reuters — Hurricane Fiona pounded the Atlantic island of Bermuda with heavy rain and winds on Friday as it tracked northward toward Eastern Canada, where it threatens to become one of the most severe storms in Canadian history. Fiona had already battered a series of Caribbean islands earlier in the week, […] Read more

File photo of wild horses running on grasslands in Nova Scotia’s remote Sable Island National Park Reserve. (Photo by Sarah Medill/Parks Canada/Handout via Reuters)

Wild horses face unruly storms as Fiona nears East Coast

Damages feared to buildings, utilities, crops

Ottawa | Reuters — Shaggy, long-maned wild horses grazing freely on the sandy grasslands of the crescent-shaped Sable Island in the North Atlantic are expected to come under the swipe of a powerful storm forecast to hit Eastern Canada this weekend. Hurricane Fiona, tracking northward after carving a destructive path through the Dominican Republic and […] Read more


CME December 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, purple and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs sag on macroeconomic concerns

Economy raises concern for beef demand

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower on Thursday, extending a pull-back from four-month highs set this week as traders worried about the health of the world economy and softening demand for beef, traders said. CME October live cattle ended down 1.025 cents at 144.85 cents/lb. and the most-active December […] Read more

Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Good grain yields seen in Saskatchewan, Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Despite delays in the ongoing barley and wheat harvests across the eastern Prairies, early indications have suggested healthy amounts of grain production. “Eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba still have a bit of harvest to go, but generally the yields are good,” Glen Loyns, general manager of JGL Commodities at Moose Jaw, Sask., said. “Quality […] Read more


Cannabis plants at a licensed indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada to review impact of cannabis legalization four years on

Review will also look at regulatory challenges in pot sector

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Thursday launched a review of the country’s legalization of recreational cannabis use four years ago to evaluate its impact on youth, Indigenous minorities and others, and analyze its effect on the economy and the illegal marijuana market. Canada became the first developed nation to legalize use of recreational marijuana […] Read more

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

Global wheat production rises, corn drops

IGC sees only slight changes in soy crop

MarketsFarm — The International Grains Council (IGC) in London raised its estimate of total world grain production for 2022-23 from its August report, with most of the increases coming in wheat. Overall, the IGC projected total production to reach 2.256 billion tonnes, adding eight million from last month. Most of that came from higher harvest […] Read more



CME December 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks, right column) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (brown and black lines) and CME cash lean hog index (pink line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs down on weak pork prices, macroeconomic fears

Chicago cattle also end lower ahead of report

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell nearly two per cent on Wednesday as falling wholesale pork prices and worries about the health of the global economy triggered a round of long liquidation, traders said. CME October lean hogs settled down 1.55 cents at 94.425 cents/lb. and most-active December hogs fell […] Read more


CBOT December 2022 soft red winter wheat (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2), MGEX December 2022 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2022 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S, grains: Wheat climbs as Ukraine war escalation feared

Corn, soybean futures retreat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures hit their highest in more than two months on Wednesday on fears of an escalation in the Ukraine war that has disrupted crucial Black Sea grain exports, but pared gains as worries about the health of the global economy pressured the wider commodities sector. Corn and soybean futures […] Read more

Security forces detain a demonstrator during a protest on Sept. 21, 2022 in St. Petersburg against a mobilization of reservists ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Social media video screengrab obtained by Reuters)

CBOT weekly outlook: War chatter part of market chaos

Stronger U.S. dollar weighs on futures

MarketsFarm — With the daily talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Scott Capinegro, president of Barrington Commodities at Barrington, Ill., has a special term for its effects on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). “I call it the Putin rally,” he quipped, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but lamenting the chaos the seven-month-old war […] Read more