Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Striking truckers lifted their blockade of dozens of highways in Brazil after police began fining and arresting protesters, though strike organizers said they had no plans to end their stoppage now in its 10th day. Road blockages were reported at 61 locations in six states on Friday, down from 88 […] Read more
Some roads reopened in Brazil; truck strike persists
Trade panel rejects Que. appeal on edible oil products
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec has lost its last path of appeal against an interprovincial trade panel’s decision on restrictions for sales of vegetable oil-based dairy products in the province. An appellate panel, convened under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), on Wednesday released a Jan. 26 report which upholds an AIT panel’s ruling last spring, favouring Saskatchewan’s challenge against Quebec’s […] Read more
CBOT soy seen weakening as soon as Brazil’s logistics improve
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, as continued good export demand for U.S. soybeans was bullish. Brazil’s slower than normal harvest pace and its logistics problems related to a trucker strike both led to strong export demand for the U.S. As soon as those […] Read more
ADM cuts biodiesel output as industry hit by weak margins
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/New York | Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland , one of the world’s top biofuels producers, has slowed North American biodiesel output, the latest sign the industry is battling uncertainty over U.S. renewable fuel policy while the oil rout curbs demand. The Chicago-based agri business has “temporarily” shifted production at its Velva, N.D. oilseeds processing […] Read more
Brazil truck strike grinds into second week, port access cleared
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Truckers staged nearly 100 roadblocks across Brazil’s farm belt on Wednesday as protests stretched into their eighth day, though access to the country’s biggest port was cleared after police clashed with protesters who had briefly halted traffic there. The steadily widening blockades have sparked growing fuel and supply shortages and […] Read more
Soybeans’ potential seen growing on Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | CNS Canada — Soybean acres in Canada — particularly Western Canada — are expected to be on the rise, according to an analyst. “I’m basing that on new varieties as well as price,” Chris Beckman, oilseeds analyst for the grains and oilseeds division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, told the annual Wild Oats […] Read more
Nitrogen fixing pulse crops are a win-win for growers
There’s a compelling economic and agronomic case to be made for pulses, not just soybeans
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you ask Lee Moats why he grows pulse crops on his farm, he doesn’t have to scramble very hard for the answer to that question. “It’s about money,” the farmer and vice-chair of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association told Country Guide during a recent discussion. On his farm at Riceton, Sask., Moats says they’ve […] Read more
Pearce: Monsanto’s next-gen weed control trait on deck
Reading Time: 2 minutes The question has been asked time and again for the past three or four years: when will we see Monsanto’s Xtend technology in Canada? The answer has been wrapped up in a long list of concerns and government procedure, but the first glint of opportunity for growers has cleared the next-to-last of a series hurdles. […] Read more
Seasonal pressures to weigh on CBOT soybeans, corn
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) moved lower during the week ended Wednesday and could be due for more losses, given the seasonal trends and looming South American crops. “As long as South America has no real weather problems… it will be hanging over the soybean market,” said Scott […] Read more
Manitoba to boost insurance coverage on pedigreed soybeans
Reading Time: 2 minutes Increased coverage for pedigreed soybeans is among the changes planned for Manitoba’s provincial crop insurance program for the 2015 growing season. Soybeans are expected to be the largest pedigreed seed crop in Manitoba this year, the province said in a release, and the increased coverage is expected to reflect the “additional cost” of producing the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
