Reading Time: < 1 minute Buenos Aires | Reuters — Heavy rains in Argentina’s farm belt over recent days have increased the risk of wheat crop loss, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in its weekly crop progress report Thursday. Wheat in the South American grains powerhouse is planted mostly in May through July and harvested November through January. The […] Read more
Recently-seeded Argentine wheat threatened by rain
Prairie CWRS bids firm, CPSR holds steady
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) were firmer, while Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat bids were holding steady during the two weeks ended Monday. Average spot bids for CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around C$197 per tonne ($5.36 per bushel). […] Read more
The future of cereal futures
Will the West ever get realistic cereal futures contracts?
Reading Time: 8 minutes They used to call Winnipeg the “Chicago of the North.” In fact, in 1943, wheat contracts traded on Winnipeg’s Grain Exchange Building surpassed the wheat volume in Chicago. But that lead was short lived. The Second World War effectively killed wheat futures in Winnipeg, ushering in the era of the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) single […] Read more
Canadian durum exports still the best, but more consistency needed
Reading Time: < 1 minute International durum buyers visiting the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) recently said they are seeing less consistency in their purchases from Canada since the end of single-desk marketing. “Sometimes we see peaks in proteins or test weight,” said Italian broker Miria Filomena Balletta in an interview. “Not just in the same cargo, but in the […] Read more
GRAINS: Nearby soy rallies on low old-crop supply; MGEX wheat jumps
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Nearby U.S. soybean futures climbed to a one-week high on Friday as U.S. processors scrambled to find scarce old-crop supplies, with the start of the next harvest still at least a month away in the Midwest. MGEX spring wheat futures touched a two-week high amid concerns about excessive rains hurting crops in key […] Read more
CIF Gulf Grain-Nearby soybean basis continue surge on processor demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes CHICAGO, Aug 22 (Reuters) – U.S. CIF Gulf soybeans nearby basis markets were sharply higher, continuing a trend this week, as processors encouraged farmers to sell any remaining beans left from last year’s harvest to meet their immediate crush needs, traders said on Friday. A slower-than-expected start to the southern harvest, typically the first new-crop beans available to processors and exporters, […] Read more
France forced to import wheat as rain hits crop quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes Paris | Reuters –– France’s rain-hit wheat crop has delivered the first shock of the 2014-15 season: the EU’s top grower and exporter is buying Lithuanian and British milling wheat to mix with its unusually poor-grade crop to meet contracts signed before the harvest. French exports exceed those of Britain and Lithuania on the world […] Read more
Big Rock Brewery founder Ed McNally, 89
Reading Time: 2 minutes The lawyer and farmer who founded Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery has died at age 89. Ed McNally, who founded what’s now Canada’s second largest Canadian-owned brewery in 1985, had retired as the company’s CEO in 2012, remaining its “chairman emeritus.” The cause of his death late Tuesday was not released. “Ed leaves behind a legacy […] Read more
European quality issues support Prairie durum bids
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Durum bids in Western Canada are showing strength relative to other wheat classes, with premiums for higher-quality supplies expected to remain in place or widen as the industry awaits Canada’s crop. Canada’s 2014-15 durum crop is estimated at 4.9 million tonnes by Statistics Canada, which compares with 6.5 million the previous year. […] Read more
Oats prices remain steady, crop quality questionable
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — While this year’s oats crop in Canada may not be above-average, prices are staying relatively strong in comparison to other crops, from where one southern Manitoba merchant sits. “They’ve held in very strong relative to corn and wheat,” said Ryan McKnight, a grain merchant for Linear Grain at Carman, Man. “Out of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
