Crops & Production Tips

Floodwaters cover the Trans Canada Highway near Abbotsford, B.C. in an aerial view taken Nov. 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy BC Hydro via Reuters)

Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic

By GFM Network News November 17, 2021

MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver. […] Read more

File photo of a chickpea crop in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Markets, Pulses, Weather

Pulse weekly outlook: India’s rabi season underway

By Phil Franz-Warkentin, GFM Network News November 17, 2021

MarketsFarm — Farmers in India are in the process of planting their next pulse crops, with good monsoon rains and high prices setting the stage for solid production. India has two major growing seasons, kharif and rabi, with the major pulses grown in the rabi season. Planting for rabi crops typically begins in November, after […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with K.C. December 2021 wheat (orange line) and MGEX December 2021 wheat (green line, left column). (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat down off nine-year high

Chicago corn, soybeans also weak

By Mark Weinraub, GFM Network News November 17, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Tuesday on a profit-taking setback, with the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract sagging 1.9 per cent from the nine-year high it hit on Monday. Corn and soybean futures also were lower, but the declines were kept in check by signs of […] Read more

Cereals, Columns, Crops

A closer look at ergot

Get your soils tested for copper levels if you get ergot in wheat, barley or oats, and if crops lodge easily and the grain is poor quality

By Ieuan Evans November 16, 2021

Let’s get this story on track once and for all. Ergot, as we know it in Canada, is a fungal infection of cereal grains and grasses. The word ergot is derived from the French word argot, meaning a spur. Ergots form within grain heads and displace the developing seed or grain. Ergot size may depend […] Read more

An aerial view shows a damaged road as a flood sweeps through, near Lytton, B.C. on Nov. 15, 2021. (Handout photo from B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure via Reuters)

Crops, Weather

B.C. rains shut CN, CP mainlines and Highways 1, 7

Repairs already underway, CN says

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News November 16, 2021

The effects of rainstorms pelting southern British Columbia’s Interior have reached into the Prairies by effectively cutting off grain traffic to Vancouver. Canadian National Railway said Tuesday that heavy rainfalls in the region have led to mudslides and washouts on its network. Crews are inspecting affected areas and “carrying out repairs which are critical to […] Read more

File photo of ice cream cones. (Ahirao_photo/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops

Loblaw parent Weston sells cookie and cone business

'Ambient' bakery plants include Kitchener site

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News November 16, 2021

The parent company for Canadian grocery and retail giant Loblaw is stepping the rest of the way out of the baked goods business. George Weston Ltd. said Monday it has signed a deal to sell its Weston Foods “ambient” bakery business — which produces cookies and crackers, along with cones and wafers for ice cream […] Read more

CBOT January 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, dark green and black lines). (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat extend rallies on strong demand

By Christopher Walljasper, GFM Network News November 15, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose for the fifth session in a row on Monday on signs of good demand on both the domestic and export fronts. Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures extended their winning streak to a sixth straight session, hitting a nine-year high on tightening global supplies […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Spring Wheat

Prairie cash wheat: Bids jump after USDA projects cuts

By GFM Network News November 15, 2021

MarketsFarm — A larger-than-expected cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest supply and demand forecast, plus rising wheat futures in anticipation of tighter worldwide supply, led to higher bids for western Canadian wheat for the week ended Thursday. USDA on Tuesday trimmed world wheat ending stocks to 275.8 million tonnes, down 1.38 million […] Read more

File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

Corn, Crops, Reuters

China proposes new rules to ease GMO approvals

Leadership seeks 'turnaround' in seed sector

By Reuters, GFM Network News November 15, 2021

Beijing | Reuters — China is planning changes to its seed regulations that will make it easier to approve genetically modified crops, a move seen as a critical step toward commercializing GM corn. The ministry of agriculture and rural affairs published a draft document late on Friday proposing a series of amendments to several different […] Read more

Kyle Jeworski, Viterra’s CEO for North America, speaks in a December 2020 promotional video announcing the company’s worldwide rebranding. (Viterra video screengrab via YouTube)

Crops, Reuters

Viterra seeking expansion in Americas, Australia, sources say

By GFM Network News November 13, 2021

London | Reuters — Swiss miner and trader Glencore and its partners are looking at options to expand their agricultural joint venture Viterra, including targeted bolt-on acquisitions in the Americas and Australia, two sources close to the matter said. The firm, formerly known as Glencore Agriculture, made the headlines in 2017 for a failed takeover […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle rebound on technical buying

U.S. grains: Soybeans fall as rapid harvest overshadows China trade hopes

Good weather pushes Alberta harvest along