CBOT July 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans sink after Midwest rains

Wheat down on big Kansas crop outlook, export competition

Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Monday as rains boosted recently planted crops across the U.S. Midwest and as traders weighed future export demand following a flurry of corn purchases by China last week. Wheat futures also fell, sinking to the lowest level in more than a month as prospects for a […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Dry weather may cut into Canadian crop prospects, AAFC says

MarketsFarm — Dry weather conditions across Western Canada could cut into production prospects in the region, according to updated supply/demand tables released Thursday by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “Extremely dry conditions prevail in large parts of Western Canada, allowing for rapid seeding progress which is trending ahead of normal; however, timely precipitation this spring and […] Read more


CBOT July 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with MGEX July 2021 wheat (orange open/high/low/close) and K.C. July 2021 wheat (yellow OHLC). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat hits one-month low, soybeans three-week low

Chicago corn down on profit-taking

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Friday, touching a one-month low on improving prospects for the crop in the U.S. Plains, traders said. Corn futures fell on a round of profit-taking after rising in three of the previous four sessions. Soybeans also closed lower, with concerns about demand outweighing a bargain-buying attempt […] Read more

Cutworms. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Prairie growers on lookout as insects seize opportunity

Dry conditions, delayed seeding lift pest counts

MarketsFarm — With most Prairie growers’ newly seeded crops already up against dry conditions, growers remain on the lookout for insects which further threaten the health of those seedlings. Considering the high prices of many crops this season, the potential damage would be more costly. John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, said there is a […] Read more


A mayfly on water. (SBTheGreenMan/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal reprieve for imidacloprid cuts its application rates

Proposal for near-total ban rejected in Health Canada's final decision

A member of the neonicotinoid family of insesticides and seed treatments has been pulled back from the brink of an all-out ban in Health Canada’s final re-evaluation ruling. Most agricultural uses of imidacloprid — sold by Bayer under brands such as Gaucho, Merit and Admire, and by Adama under brands such as Alias and Sombrero […] Read more

Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Forecast, flea beetles complicate canola timing

Dry conditions make ideal seeding time difficult to peg

Drought conditions, and the odds of more to come, have some Prairie canola growers pondering when to roll the dice on seeding, if they want to do more than feed the flea beetles. Small-seeded crops, such as canola, have garnered particular concern from agronomists and producers worried about germination, given power dry topsoil across much […] Read more


Average sea surface temperature anomalies over the equatorial Pacific Ocean for the week centred on May 5, 2021 compared to 1981-2010 base period. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Nina done, U.S. CPC says

Neutral weather likely through summer

Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday La Nina has ended and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions are likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer. “ENSO neutral” refers to periods in which neither El Nino nor La Nina is present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns, […] Read more

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Drought Monitor map for the Prairie provinces as of April 30, 2021. (AAFC)

‘Extreme drought’ expands in Prairies

Southern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan parched

MarketsFarm — The newly released map from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Drought Monitor (CDM) shows the Prairies’ ongoing drought getting worse. According to AAFC’s nationwide map released on Friday, southwestern Manitoba, parts of southern Saskatchewan and the southeast corner of Alberta are under CDM’s classification of Extreme (D3) drought as of April 30. Communities […] Read more


File photo of Ontario cropland from the air. (IMNATURE/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal NDP introduces soil health bill

Proposal calls for a National Soil Health Advocate

The federal New Democrats propose to set up a plan they say could help build up Canadian agriculture from the ground down. The NDP’s agriculture critic, British Columbia MP Alistair MacGregor, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in the Commons to create a national soil health strategy for Canada. The strategy as proposed in […] Read more

CBOT July 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange, green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn mixed on continued liquidation, tight supply

Soybeans slide on profit-taking; wheat up as U.S. dryness expands

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures ended mixed on Thursday as traders took profits following a strong run-up in the market, while global supply concerns offered support. Soybeans slipped as soyoil stepped back from recent highs, while wheat ticked higher as dryness expands across the U.S. Great Plains. The most-active corn futures on the […] Read more


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