Yellow peas. (Victoria Popova/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba growers not worried about Merit situation

Pea, canola protein processor in receivership

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — After Manitoba-based plant protein processor Merit Functional Foods went into receivership last Wednesday, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG) executive director Daryl Domitruk said it is not a microcosm of the province’s pulse industry. Domitruk said MPSG learned about Merit’s financial situation through the media. He also added that some Manitoba pea growers […] Read more

ICE May 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola drifts downward with soybeans

Wheat's recent decline may spur canola acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market drifted downward during the week ended Wednesday largely due to macroeconomic activity in the markets, according to one analyst. Jerry Klassen from Resilient Commodity Analysis in Winnipeg said canola prices have mostly followed the lead of the Chicago soy complex, while rains fell on Brazil as its soybean […] Read more


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

CBOT weekly outlook: Wide array of factors affecting grain prices

Corn, soy see speculative profit-taking

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Recent rains in parts of South America, as well as a correction in the markets, have paused rallies in corn and soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to one trader. Jack Scoville, vice-president of The Price Futures Group in Chicago, said that while central and southern Argentina are still mired […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Little change in wheat bids

U.S. wheat futures up on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite bullish factors affecting wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), western Canadian wheat bids did not see much change during the week ended Thursday. Futures prices for all three major U.S. varieties increased week-by-week, mostly fuelled by large gains on Feb. 10, as traders shifted focus to Russia’s invasion of […] Read more


Oats. (Greg Berg photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain bids quietly drift lower

Oats still making their way into feedlots

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat in Western Canada drifted lower during the week ended Wednesday. Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta., said a relatively milder winter across the Prairies has resulted in less consumption of feed grains in feedlots. In turn, feedlots are not purchasing as much […] Read more

Humanitarian aid provided by Palestinian Arabs is distributed at northwestern Syria’s Deir Ballut and Muhammadiyah camps near the Turkish border on Feb. 13, 2022. (Photo: Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Reuters)

Pulse weekly outlook: Earthquake to have little effect on pulse markets

Such disasters don't often blow back on agrifood commodity costs

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday last week, taking the lives of more than 40,000 people, may not have a major effect on pulse markets, according to one analyst. Jon Driedger from Leftfield Commodity Research in Winnipeg said that while natural disasters like an earthquake can take on […] Read more


ICE March 2023 canola with 20-day moving average (yellow line, right column) and Canadian dollar value in U.S. dollars (red line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: March canola unchanged from last week

Loonie's relative strength seen as drag on values

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was once again trading rangebound for the week ended Wednesday, as the March contract was left unchanged from one week earlier at $828.20. The contract oscillated between a range of $819.40 and $837 per tonne during the week, all the while seemingly immune from larger price ranges seen […] Read more

File photo of a flax field in Russia. (Ukususha/iStock/Getty Images)

Price drop not enough to lift demand for Canadian flax

Russia, Kazakhstan competitive in export markets

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — While flax prices in Western Canada have fallen by at least half from what they were one year ago, they are still too high to be competitive on a global level, according to one flax processor. Mike Popowich, owner and vice-president of TA Foods Ltd. at Yorkton, Sask., said demand for the crop […] Read more


(Pabradyphoto/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Weather outweighs U.S. Fed rate hike announcement

'People are returning to the Argentine situation'

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Week-long rallies for grain futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were disrupted by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest key interest rate announcement on Wednesday. The Fed revealed it is raising its key interest rate by 25 basis points in its ongoing fight against inflation. While the central bank acknowledged inflation is […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Bids mixed as U.S. futures rise

Rising Canadian dollar adds pressure

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canada Western Red Spring and Canada Western Amber Durum wheat prices declined while bids for Canada Prairie Spring Red rose during the week ended Jan. 26. Wheat futures in the U.S. fell Monday, with the March contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropping 21 to 29 U.S. cents due to spillover […] Read more