(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Weather buoys grain prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm –– A dry spring on the Prairies, coupled with intensely wet weather south of the border, has frustrated producers and supported higher feed grain prices. Barley prices have rallied “quite strongly” due to dry weather observed across most of the Prairies, combined with tight supplies from previous years, said Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in […] Read more


(VCM Construction photo)

Federated Co-op buying Saskatchewan ethanol plant

Reading Time: 2 minutes Federated Co-operatives is set to lock in an ethanol supply for its member co-ops’ gas stations with a deal for a major Saskatchewan wheat ethanol producer. FCL announced Wednesday it will buy the Terra Grain Fuels ethanol plant in the RM of Pense near Belle Plaine, about 25 km east of Moose Jaw, for an […] Read more



File photo of idled equipment in drought conditions on a farm in New South Wales, Australia. (f.ield_of_vision/iStock/Getty Images)

Australia to import first wheat in 12 years as drought bites

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sydney | Reuters — Australia will import its first shipment of wheat in more than a decade as a drought across the country’s east coast wilts supply in the world’s fourth largest exporter of the staple grain. Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources said late on Tuesday that it has approved an import permit […] Read more

Ardent Mills’ flour mill at Rush City, Minn., about 80 km north of St. Paul. (ArdentMills.com)

Ardent Mills to close four U.S. flour mills

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ardent Mills will close three U.S. flour mills next month and a fourth in the first quarter of 2020, the flour miller and food ingredient maker announced Friday. The company, a joint venture between ConAgra Foods, Cargill and CHS, said the closures were necessary due to “anticipated demand and to enhance the efficiency […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: A tale of two Prairie grain markets

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Tight old-crop supplies may be keeping nearby barley bids underpinned on the Prairies — but expectations for increased acres in 2019 mean new-crop bids are at a considerable discount. “It’s a tale of two markets right now,” said Glen Loyns, general manager of JGL Commodities at Moose Jaw, pointing to the large spread […] Read more

U.S. varieties such as Faller and Prosper once had a 20 per cent yield advantage over CWRS, but the arrival of new varieties such as Brandon has narrowed the difference.

Canada Northern wheat class struggles for acreage

It turns out that it’s hard to knock CWRS off its perch as the preferred wheat class for customers and farmers

Reading Time: 5 minutes Some touted it as the new high-yielding wheat class that would free farmers from the rigid standards of CWRS, but nearly four years after its creation, Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) hasn’t made much of a dent in Prairie wheat acreage. Some predicted CNHR’s acres would rival or even surpass Canada Western Red Spring. The […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices steady ahead of seeding

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices have firmed up ahead of seeding, and producers are quick to make room in feed bins ahead of seeding. “New-crop price is significantly lower than old-crop, so at some point they’re going to converge,” said Allen Pirness, senior trader with Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. Statistics Canada’s crop intentions report, […] Read more

(ADM.com)

ADM’s move to spin off ethanol assets speaks to industry’s woes

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York/Chicago | Reuters — Biofuels pioneer Archer Daniels Midland took another step toward abandoning its pure-play ethanol assets on Friday, the latest sign of the industry’s struggles with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars, thin margins, and overproduction. U.S. law requires ethanol to be blended into gasoline but domestic demand for the biofuel added […] Read more