(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Steam evaporates off yearling market

August 2024 feeder futures at a premium

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded steady to $4 lower. The yearling quality continues to fade as thicker flesh levels are starting to appear. Steer calves were down $4-$8 on average while heifer calves were down $15 to as much as $20 in some cases. From a seasonal perspective, the calf market […] 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

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

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


Photo: File/iStock

CBOT weekly outlook: Harvest pressure weighing on prices

'No heavy concerns about supply in general'

MarketsFarm — As harvests of soybeans, corn and spring wheat advanced in the United States, trader John Weyer of Walsh Commercial Hedging Services said the pressure on those commodities was going to continue over coming weeks. “We might test some technical levels, see some selloffs a bit and get some of it back. It’s going […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans firm, risk aversion caps gains

Corn and wheat drop, export data eyed

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures edged up on Wednesday, as a declining U.S. dollar lifted the oilseeds at one point nearly one per cent before risk aversion pushed prices back toward their opening levels. Wheat declined and corn was squeezed between them in what one strategist called a seasonal “bottoming formation” for the U.S. agriculture […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans drop in choppy trade

Wheat futures lifted by surprise purchase from China

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Tuesday, at one point nearing their lowest levels since December of 2021, under pressure from a stronger dollar, improving signs for the U.S. harvest and a brisk start to planting in Brazil. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans settled down 0.3 per cent at $12.72-3/4 a bushel. Futures […] Read more

File photo of cattle in an Alberta feedlot. (Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Feeder market falters at record highs

Risk premiums in market seen eroding

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2 to as much as $8 lower on average. Calf markets were relatively unchanged to $10 lower. There was moderate demand for top quality grass yearlings but plainer types experienced softer buying interest. Pre-conditioned calves held value but unweaned bawlers appear to set back $5-$10. Seasonally, […] Read more