A custom hauler spreads dairy manure on hay ground using a Husky 18000L Slimline liquid manure spreader on a farm at Wallenstein, Ont., north of Kitchener, in the spring of 2018. (Husky Farm Equipment handout photo via Reuters)

No poop for you: Manure supplies run short as fertilizer prices soar

Ontario honeywagon maker all sold out

Chicago | Reuters — For nearly two decades, Abe Sandquist has used every marketing tool he can think of to sell the back end of a cow. Poop, after all, needs to go somewhere. The Midwestern entrepreneur has worked hard to woo farmers on its benefits for their crops. Now, facing a global shortage of […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 corn (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat, soy futures fall

Traders monitoring Ukraine crisis

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures eased on Friday as traders monitored diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and gauged continuing disruptions to Black Sea crop exports. More than three weeks after launching its invasion, in what Moscow calls a “special military operation,” the Russian advance has stalled and failed […] Read more


CF’s facility at Medicine Hat, Alta. is billed as the largest nitrogen manufacturing complex in Canada. (CFIndustries.com)

CF Industries boosts U.S. fertilizer shipments as Russian exports cut

Chicago | Reuters — CF Industries is increasing fertilizer shipments to both U.S. coasts from the world’s largest nitrogen complex in Louisiana to help offset a decline in exports from Russia after it invaded Ukraine, CEO Tony Will said. Global fertilizer supplies have tightened and prices have increased from already high levels as sanctions bite […] Read more

CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle hit multi-month lows

Hogs drop by daily limit

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to a six-month low and feeder cattle hit a nine-month low on Friday, while lean hog futures sank by the daily exchange-imposed trading limit. Follow-through selling pushed down cattle contracts after a string of losses in the markets, brokers said. Recent weakness in wholesale […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with K.C. May 2022 wheat (orange line) and MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat posts record weekly rise as Ukraine war drives volatility

CBOT corn touches highest price since 2012

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures posted their biggest-ever weekly gain as prices on Friday jumped by their daily limit on deepening fears that Russia’s attack on Ukraine will cause prolonged disruptions to exports from the Black Sea region. Trading was volatile amid uncertainty over how much global demand may shift […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (dark green line) and CBOT July 2022 and September 2022 wheat (yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat extends run to 14-year high on Russia-Ukraine supply threat

U.S. studying biofuel waiver to fight food inflation

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures galloped to another 14-year high on Thursday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increasingly fanned fears of massive disruptions to grain exports from the Black Sea region. Wheat and corn futures advanced by their daily trading limits during a volatile session, though the corn market later […] Read more


U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, feeder cattle sag to four-month lows

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures slumped on Thursday, with live cattle and feeder cattle setting four-month lows. The cattle markets came under continued pressure from weakness in equities, which lost ground as the Ukraine crisis kept investors on edge, traders said. In grain markets, soaring costs for corn and wheat threaten […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CBOT December 2022 wheat (orange OHLC). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat hits 14-year peak in volatile trading

Soyoil sets record high before retreating

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose by their daily limit to a 14-year high on Wednesday as the war in Ukraine raised major concerns about grain supplies that will be available from the Black Sea region. Corn futures reached their highest price since December 2012, when the market set an […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX May 2022 wheat (orange O/H/L/C) and K.C. May 2022 wheat (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat limit up to 14-year peak

Soyoil sets record on Russia-Ukraine crisis

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures soared by the daily limit to their highest level in almost 14 years on Tuesday as traders feared prolonged disruptions to global supplies following Russia’s invasion of fellow grain exporter Ukraine. Soyoil futures set an all-time high on worries over vegetable oil exports from the […] Read more

CME April 2022 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle hit four-month low

Live cattle weaken; lean hogs higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures dropped to a four-month low on Tuesday and live cattle futures eased as Wall Street tumbled, traders said. A surge in prices for grains used for livestock feed added pressure on feeder cattle, traders said. Corn and wheat futures each rose by their daily trading […] Read more