Ripe soybeans near Morden, Man. on Sept. 14, 2017. (Allan Dawson photo)

U.S. grains: Soybeans surge on U.S.-China trade truce

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures jumped more than two per cent on Monday after Washington and Beijing agreed to drop tariff threats, easing fears that demand for U.S. shipments to top importer China could slow. Corn prices were little changed, while wheat dropped on crop-boosting rains in the U.S. Plains wheat belt and […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle surge on technical buying, packer demand

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Cattle futures jumped the most in more than a month on Monday, buoyed by technical short covering and optimism that demand from beef packers that resulted in last week’s large cattle slaughter will continue this week, traders and analysts said. Front-month June live cattle futures briefly rose by their daily three-cent […] Read more


A crenellated walkway on top of the Great Wall of China. (Cia.gov)

China agrees to import more ag commodities, fuels from U.S.

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — China has agreed to significantly increase its purchases of U.S. goods and services, the two countries said Saturday, but made no mention of a US$200 billion target the White House had touted earlier. Beijing and Washington agreed they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and […] Read more

Hard white winter wheat growing in North Carolina in 2010. (Dave Marshall photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures jump

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rallied on Friday, with the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract surging 4.1 per cent on forecasts for dry conditions that could further stress an already damaged crop. The weather outlook also threatened to slow planting progress in the U.S. Midwest, which was supportive […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle drop on weak cash prices, big supplies

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures slumped for the fourth time in five sessions on Friday as falling cash cattle prices and ample supplies of slaughter-ready animals weighed on the market, traders said. The possibility that meat exports could slow due to trade tensions with China and uncertainty about a deal […] Read more

Grain sorghum under irrigation at Bushland in northern Texas. (Susan O’Shaughnessy photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China retreats from U.S. sorghum probe amid global market havoc

Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China dropped its anti-dumping probe into imports of U.S. sorghum on Friday, beating a hasty retreat from a dispute that wreaked chaos across the global grain market and raised concerns about rising costs and financial damage at home. The move was seen as a goodwill concession as Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Extended-tolerance canola now on deck for 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes Giving growers a wider window to spray in-crop weeds with glyphosate, the new platform for Monsanto’s future canola trait stacks is now booked to make its way into the Canadian market next year. The U.S. seed and chemical company’s Canadian arm announced last week it plans to commercialize TruFlex canola in 2019, following plot trials […] Read more

A wheat crop in progress on May 24, 2016 north of London, Ont. (Ralph Pearce photo)

U.S. grains: Wheat up for third day in a row

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Thursday, their third straight day of gains, on worries that adverse weather will lead to crop shortfalls in key growing areas around the world, traders said. Soybean futures fell, pressured by fresh concerns about exports. Corn futures closed lower on long liquidation by funds after failing […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle rebound on technical buying, short-covering

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures bounced on Thursday on technical buying and short-covering following three days of steep declines that had sliced prices by more than five per cent, traders said. Optimism that a deal on a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be reached by the end […] Read more