CBOT March 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans touch six-year high on Argentina strike, weather

Grains complex rebounds after stepping back on news of new coronavirus strain

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybeans climbed to six-year highs on Monday as weather and export troubles in Argentina outweighed concerns of a new coronavirus strain hitting Britain. Corn and wheat futures traded near even as soybeans supported the grains complex. Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans gained 23-1/2 cents to $12.47-1/2 per bushel, after […] Read more

The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 28, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Ban on food aid restrictions blocked at WTO

WTO says outcome 'disappointing' in difficult year

Geneva | Reuters — World Trade Organization members were at odds on Friday over a proposal that would ban countries from restricting food aid deliveries, potentially complicating the response to a feared COVID-fuelled humanitarian catastrophe next year. The proposal was one of two related to the pandemic that failed to make headway at a three-day […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Guelph beef plant idled against COVID-19 outbreak

Cattle set-aside plan en route, BFO says

Agrifood giant Cargill is temporarily halting production at its beef processing plant at Guelph, Ont. in the wake of a significant COVID-19 outbreak among employees. The company announced it would “begin the process to temporarily idle” the Dunlop Drive plant effective Thursday (Dec. 17). “This was a difficult decision for our team who are operating […] Read more

(TysonFoods.com)

Tyson fires seven managers after probe into COVID-19 wagering

Employees had been suspended following lawsuit

Reuters — Tyson Foods said Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19. The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at […] Read more


File photo of uncooked chicken wings. (Mimadeo/iStock/Getty Images)

COVID outbreak shuts Nova Scotia poultry plant

Province closes Eden Valley for at least two weeks

Provincial officials have temporarily shut a chicken and turkey slaughter and processing plant in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, citing recent cases of COVID-19 among employees. Eden Valley Poultry’s processing plant at Berwick will be closed “for at least two weeks,” the provincial health department said in a release Friday. “We know this will be a […] Read more

Minks at a farm near Soroe in Denmark on Nov. 5, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)

Minks, staff positive for COVID-19 at B.C. mink farm

Coronavirus found in eight workers, five mink so far

A mink farm in southwestern British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is now under provincial veterinary quarantine and its staff self-isolating after several animals and workers tested positive for COVID-19. Fraser Valley Health, the regional health authority for the area, on Sunday declared an outbreak at the farm after eight workers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus […] Read more


Not only are the rules complex and professional fees potentially high, but the programs change often.

Farm Financial Planner: COVID-19 farm relief programs

Programs are blessings in bureaucratic disguise, valuable and complex

Federal relief programs for economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic including job losses, business interruption, nonpayment of wages, unemployment and illness are being addressed by a web of federal and provincial programs. Farmers can benefit from several plans, provided they can document losses and, in some cases, pay back some part of subsidies. What […] Read more

As a farmer who might be mourning the inability to go to Arizona this winter, what are your options for creating deeper rest at home or in Victoria?

Froese: Trading overwhelm for mental rest

When you can’t go south for the winter, what are your options for creating deeper rest?

Harvest on our farm finished October 7 which is a whole lot better than December 18 of 2019 for last year’s harvest. I can only imagine what you might be feeling as you read this, sitting down for a break wondering when the mental chatter in your brain is going to calm down. I’m a […] Read more


An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

U.S. pork packer Smithfield offers ultra-cold vaccine storage

COVID-19 vaccines need storage at -20 C, -70 C

Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Thursday it had offered to help U.S. health officials distribute COVID-19 vaccines and store them in ultra-cold freezers that are in high demand to support a public vaccination campaign. U.S. states, cities and hospitals are scrambling to buy freezers that can safely […] Read more

CME February 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20- and 50-day moving averages and January 2021 feeder cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures step back on demand uncertainty

February lean hog futures lower

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures trimmed on Thursday as fears of additional pandemic closures weighed on the demand outlook, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange February live cattle futures fell 1.35 cents to 112.575 cents/lb., the contract’s biggest decline in two weeks (all figures US$). CME January feeder cattle ended two cents lower at […] Read more