File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Seeding to start in Manitoba, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan lentils expected to lose acres to wheat, canola

MarketsFarm — With the calendar turning to May and temperatures expected to surpass 20 C this week, pulse seedings are set to begin for parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. “Right now, we’re still in a bit of a holding pattern,” said Manitoba provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange. “We haven’t really had much for drying. Now […] Read more

CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 100-day moving average, Minneapolis July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat closes down as global supplies look strong

Market monitoring Plains rain relief, Black Sea grain talks

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grains and soybean futures closed lower to mixed on Wednesday, as traders eyed sluggish demand and upcoming U.S. export sales data. Wheat fell on news of ample short-term global supplies, despite the risk that an agreement allowing exports from war-torn Ukraine may end next month. Canadian farmers intend to […] Read more


Damage is seen from a rain-wrapped tornado at Cole, Okla., just south of Oklahoma City, on April 19, 2023, in a screengrab from a social media video. (Photo: Hans Duran video screengrab via Reuters)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. rain, StatCan report biggest influences

Russia's sabre-rattling not yet swaying markets

MarketsFarm — The three to five inches of rain received Wednesday in Kansas and Oklahoma have put pressure on Kansas City and Chicago wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to broker Ryan Ettner of Allendale Inc. Added to that, Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) report on prospective plantings, also received Wednesday, has weighed […] Read more

CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, Minneapolis July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago grains flat or down with weather, Black Sea in focus

Large Russian supplies temper fears over Black Sea deal collapse

Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grain futures closed flat or lower on Tuesday, with wheat hitting a 21-month low, as markets were weighed down by a dip in stocks and crude oil and clear forecasts for U.S. planting weather, traders said. Corn closed slightly up as the market weighed increasing export competition from Brazil, […] Read more


Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in degrees Celsius over the tropical Pacific Ocean for the week centred on April 12, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

New record highs 'more likely than not'

Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more



File photo of a rapeseed field in India. (Amlanmathur/iStock/Getty Images)

India’s rapeseed output to be steady

El Nino may be a spoiler

MarketsFarm — Rapeseed production in India has been forecast to remain quite consistent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in New Delhi. The attaché projected rapeseed production for 2023-24 to hold at 11.5 million tonnes, the same in 2022-23. USDA’s official numbers placed India as the world’s No. 4 producer of rapeseed, […] Read more

File photo of a southern Alberta field as spring approaches. (BrendanHunter/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie soil moisture picture growing clearer

Alberta driest; Saskatchewan variable; Manitoba mostly OK

It’s a variable soil moisture picture on the Prairies as seeding season draws nearer. The east has enough moisture — and in some cases too much. And it gets progressively drier toward the west, with portions of Alberta nearing critical condition, according to one weather watcher. Bruce Burnett, weather and markets director for the MarketsFarm […] Read more


File photo of soybeans being loaded for transport in Argentina. (Wirestock/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina soybeans expected to go from horrible to great

El Nino expected to improve growing conditions

MarketsFarm — While Argentina is headed to one of its worst soybean harvests in decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in Buenos Aires projects a huge turnaround in 2023-24. Argentina is the world’s third-largest grower of soybeans — a fair amount less than Brazil and the U.S., but a lot more than other […] Read more

File photo of a soybean field in Argentina. (Federico Weyland/iStock/Getty Images)

Vast tracts of drought-hit Argentine soy fields seen going unharvested

Yet more cuts to production possible

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina’s Buenos Aires grains exchange on Thursday said farmers would likely leave large tracts of soy fields unharvested due to damage from a historic drought, which could lead to more cuts to its 25 million-tonne production forecast. Argentina is the world’s top exporter of soybean oil and meal, but its […] Read more


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