Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. federal prosecutors have accused two Chinese nationals of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen that had the potential to be used as an agricultural terrorism weapon into the United States for research.

Two Chinese researchers accused of smuggling ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into U.S.
Fusarium poses threat

Spring planting in Manitoba close to finished
Province gets very little rain over the week
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dry conditions continued to spur quick seeding progress in Manitoba, as the provincial agriculture department reported spring planting reached 95 per cent complete as of June 3.

EU farmers raise alarm over Mercosur, Ukraine trade deals
Comments come ahead of visit by Brazil’s Lula
Reading Time: 2 minutes French and Spanish farmers warned on Wednesday that a flood of imports under planned European Union trade agreements with South American bloc Mercosur and Ukraine risked severely undermining European agriculture.

Prairie forecast: Summer pattern making forecast difficult
Forecast issued June 4, covering June 4-11, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes We start this forecast period off with an area of low pressure over far northern Manitoba that is slowly moving off into Hudson Bay. To the west, an area of low pressure is developing over the Yukon which is helping to develop a weak ridge of high pressure over Alberta. Over southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba weak high pressure is in place.

Ukraine corn exports seen falling sharply in June, producers union says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Kyiv | Reuters – Ukrainian corn exports are set to fall to one million metric tons in June from two million tons in May, as Ukraine-origin corn is uncompetitive compared to its American equivalent, producers’ union UAC said on Wednesday. Ukraine is a traditional corn grower and exporter and exports are expected at around 22 […] Read more

Pulse Weekly: India grants 10-month extension on duty-free yellow peas
‘Important news for our industry’ says Pulse Canada president
Reading Time: 2 minutes There is some good news for the Canadian pulse industry after months of doldrums as the Indian government extended its duty-free period on its imports of yellow peas by 10 months. The Indian government made the announcement late in the day on May 30.

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog prices ease off
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cattle prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange slipped back on Tuesday despite earlier gains. The August live cattle contract rose to US$212.850 per hundredweight during the day, but eventually closed at US$209.750, a loss of US$1.250 compared to Monday’s close. The August feeder cattle contract also reached its highest price since May 13 at US$304.550/cwt. […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans buoyed by higher crude oil; wheat sags
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Tuesday, rallying from a seven-week low struck a day earlier, as strong crude oil prices lifted soyoil futures and traders weighed expectations that the leaders of United States and top global soy buyer China will speak this week. Corn futures bounced after dipping to multi-month lows […] Read more

Revamp coming for Canada’s national pig code
Canada’s Code of Practice for Care and Handling of Pigs is up for review, a process expected to be compete by 2028
Reading Time: 3 minutes The code that sets Canada’s standards care and handling of pigs is up for review, a process expected to be compete by 2028.

What we know about how wildfire smoke affects Prairie crops
Impacts depend on smoke quantity, plant progress, surrounding weather conditions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie farmers don't have to go far right now to see and feel the effects of smoke in the atmosphere — but what their crops will experience this year is a more complicated matter.