CME December 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs down as Middle East war sparks risk-off selling

Smithfield to shut Charlotte, N.C. plant

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures retreated on Monday while lean hog futures fell for the first time in four sessions, pressured by risk-off selling as violence erupted in the Middle East over the weekend and riled global markets. The bloodiest fighting in years between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel […] Read more



CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures fall as harvest accelerates

CBOT December wheat turns lower

New York | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn futures fell on Friday due to profit-taking after the previous day’s rally and forecasts of favourable harvest weather this weekend. Wheat futures also dropped as concerns ebbed about shipping grain through the Black Sea. The most-active Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures fell 1.2 per […] Read more



Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow speaks Nov. 24, 2021 in the House of Commons. (Screengrab from supplied video)

Anti-activist bill back before Commons committee

Bill adds protections for biosecurity, farmers' mental health, Barlow says

A bill to create harsher penalties for unlawful entry onto farms and biosecure zones is back before the House of Commons after a previous iteration died on the order table in 2021. Conservative MP John Barlow brought forward Bill C-275, “an Act to amend the Health of Animals Act (biosecurity on farms),” as a private […] Read more

Barley. (Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Feed weekly outlook: Lack of overseas demand brings down prices

'It feels like for now, we've kind of bottomed out'

MarketsFarm — As the grain harvest wraps up in Western Canada, feed grain prices continued to move downward. However, harvest pressure was not the only reason for their declines. Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities at Moose Jaw, Sask. heard others say their crops were larger than anticipated — but there were additional factors adding pressure […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat rises on Black Sea tensions

Corn at one-month high; soybeans also up

Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rallied on Thursday, boosted more than three per cent on reports of new tensions in the Black Sea region. Corn futures hit a one-month peak, breaking out of a recent range holding above a key technical level, and soybeans rose modestly despite lacklustre export demand. A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship […] Read more

CME December 2023 lean hogs with 10-, 20- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally, export sales in focus

Cattle futures turn lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied on Thursday, with signs of strong export demand supporting prices following the market’s decline to its lowest in more than four months on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Thursday morning that export sales of pork totaled 42,900 metric tonnes in […] Read more


(LOP.parl.ca)

Carbon exemption bill nearing close of Senate deliberations

Farm groups hoped to see Bill C-234 made law in time for harvest

A bill to exempt propane and natural gas from the carbon price when used for grain drying and barn heating was nearing the end of its winding road through the Senate after an Oct. 5 meeting. Thursday morning the Senate’s committee on agriculture and forestry heard final witnesses speak on Bill C-234, which would amend […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola looking for a spark

Recent declines in crude oil, diesel seen as bearish

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market hit its lowest levels in three months on the last trading day of September but has since uncovered some support in the first days of October. Canola “has found a level where it’s stabilized, but there’s not a lot of life right now,” said Ken Ball of PI […] Read more