CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn market attention shifts north

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade moved lower over the past week, but stabilized at those lows as attention shifts from weather concerns in Argentina to planting intentions in North America. Rains in Argentina over the past weekend helped ease dryness concerns there somewhat and caused soybeans and […] Read more

Students work at seeding the lysimeters by hand at the Elora Research Station.

The crop rotation effect

At last, scientists hope to explain exactly why rotations are such a good practice

Reading Time: 7 minutes It’s one thing to know the benefits of a practice, it’s another to understand the “why,” especially when it comes to biological functions where the road to understanding can be anything but simple. In cropping terms, science has known about the benefits of longer rotations for years, but not about the exact reasons why. This […] Read more


Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal. (CIA.gov)

Brazilian grain growers explore increased use of Panama Canal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian farmers in top soy state Mato Grosso signed a memorandum of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority to evaluate ways to cut transportation costs and boost Brazilian grain volumes using the waterway, the authority’s chief administrator said. The canal’s administration is looking to increase its participation in rising Brazilian […] Read more



Soybean is more tolerant and resilient when it comes to early weed interference, compared to corn.

The challenge of early weeds in soybeans

A two-pass weed control strategy makes a lot of economic sense

Reading Time: 5 minutes In an ideal world, it might not matter when a field of soybeans is sprayed, or whether it’s a soil-applied or post-emergence herbicide that’s used. But this isn’t an ideal world and application timing can be very important. So is the crop. In Country Guide’s spring Corn Guide, Dr. Peter Sikkema discussed the impacts of […] Read more

A gaucho drives a carriage through the pampas (lowland plains), a primary farming and ranching region of Argentina. (CIA.gov)

Argentina’s soybean season ‘dead’

Reading Time: 3 minutes Buenos Aires | Reuters — Hope has withered for any recovery in Argentine soy yields hit by a four-month drought that shows no signs of abating, farmers and analysts said Monday, prompting China to step in to fill the gap in soymeal exports from the world’s No. 1 supplier. The dryness that has blighted the […] Read more


(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

China says U.S. soybeans ‘prime target’ over tariffs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chinese officials have said U.S. soybeans are a prime target for retaliation against tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports, according to the American Soybean Association. Farm groups have long feared that China, which imports more than a third of all U.S. soybeans, could slow their purchases […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: USDA report sways soy, corn

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Thursday’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture caused a stir in corn and soybean markets on the Chicago Board of Trade. “The Brazil and Argentine numbers (were) really not too terribly exciting. And the world numbers (were) basically kind of going exactly the opposite […] Read more


A demanding year ahead for soybean markets

A demanding year ahead for soybean markets

With bumper crops expected around the world, soybean growers will need to juggle currency rates, weather anomalies and key demand drivers to find their best soybean price in 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes Soybeans are a great crop to grow. This is reflected in the 3.1 million acres of soybeans grown this past year across Ontario. Driving from Windsor to Montreal and beyond, soybeans are a common sight. It’s on the other side of the world, though, that China, the world’s biggest consumer of soybeans, imported a whopping […] Read more

(Lisa Guenther photo)

CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn traders shift gaze to U.S.

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — As February ends, attention is shifting from South America to the U.S. for traders at the Chicago Board of Trade. “We’re about to flip the calendar into March, when people start paying more attention to the conditions in the U.S.,” said Rich Feltes of RJ O’Brien in Chicago. Attention for the past […] Read more