CBOT December 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy ease as harvest, export prospects weighed

Wheat ends higher after mixed trade

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans slipped on Thursday after a seven-month peak a day earlier, while corn eased as traders set recent storm damage against generally strong prospects for harvest yields. Wheat ended higher as traders digested competing signals for global supply. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade closed down […] Read more

CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans touch seven-month high on export optimism

Wheat stays firm on demand

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures climbed to a seven-month high on Wednesday on U.S. export optimism and concerns over continued dryness across parts of the U.S. Midwest, traders said. Chicago corn edged lower, as a Midwest crop tour estimated higher yields, offsetting storm damage concerns in Iowa. The most active soybean contract on […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Brandon pork plant’s exports to China suspended

Chinese protocols call for temporary pause, Maple Leaf says

New Chinese rules for exporters and a number of COVID-19 cases among its workers have led Maple Leaf Foods to temporarily halt pork traffic to China from its biggest hog plant. The company said Tuesday it has “temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by the Chinese […] Read more

CME October 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle gain as slaughter rates, beef exports rise

October lean hogs up three-quarters of a cent

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures continued to rally Thursday, holding to a nearly six-month peak in prices, as exports to China also grew, traders said. China was a big buyer of U.S. beef in the latest week, with sales of 1,927 tonnes for the period through Aug. 6, the most […] Read more


CBOT December 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Exports, storm damage offset big crop outlook

Corn, soy prices buck USDA forecasts; wheat rises on corn rally

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn prices surged to a four-week high on Thursday as forecasts of warmer weather and worries over recent storm damage in the U.S. Midwest countered pressure from huge government harvest forecasts. The corn rally also boosted wheat, as traders continue to debate how much impact the drought hammering Argentina’s farm […] Read more

CME October 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle set five-month high, beef prices rise more

USDA cuts pork production forecast

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures leapt to a five-month high on Wednesday and feeder cattle futures neared a six-month peak as boxed beef prices continued to rise. Meatpackers are paying more for cattle due to the strength of the beef market, traders said. Prices typically rise heading into Labour Day, […] Read more



File photo of a cooking oil bottling line in Spain. (Sabor de España/iStock/Getty Images)

Canadian canola prices spike as shippers find back door to China

'Profits are extravagant... It is like gold oil now'

Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China. Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police […] Read more



China aims to buttress the country’s protein supply after African swine fever decimated its hog herd.  Photo: File

China to encourage foreign investment in livestock breeding, plant-based meat substitutes

Beijing | Reuters – China’s state planner said on Friday that it will encourage foreign investment in livestock and poultry breeding, as well as plant-based meats substitutes, from this year. The move by the National Development and Reform Commission comes as China, the world’s top meat market, strives to boost supplies of meat and alternative […] Read more