(Bob_bosewell/iStock/Getty Images)

Farmers’ net cash income improves as crop prices soar

Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers reaped record profits last year and are on track to do the same this year, the federal agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as prices for its top crops soared. Prices of canola hit all-time highs this month, rallying with oilseed rival soybeans, on brisk Chinese buying to produce feed […] Read more

File photo of a rye field in Kazakhstan. (Stsmhn/iStock/Getty Images)

Kazakhstan’s president orders ban on foreign ownership of farmland

Reading Time: < 1 minute Almaty | Reuters — Kazakhstan will permanently ban foreigners from owning or renting farmland in the vast central Asian nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Thursday, ending a lengthy dispute that once prompted anti-government protests. Kazakhstan is a major producer of grains, oilseeds and meat in the former Soviet region sandwiched between China and Russia […] Read more


CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures limit-up to highest since May 2019

Cattle futures bounce on bargain buying

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Wednesday, hitting their highest in nearly two years on tight frozen stocks and expectations for strong Chinese demand, traders said. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s cold storage report issued on Tuesday afternoon fueled buying on Wednesday. “Belly and trim stocks are at four-year […] Read more

CME April 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures fall as supplies seen rising

April lean hogs up from Friday

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday, pressured by expectations of rising supplies as improving weather conditions in the southern U.S. Plains will allow meat processors to increase their slaughter, traders said. A deep freeze last week across Texas and the southern U.S. Plains caused power failures that shut down meat […] Read more


An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

High fertilizer prices likely to climb more

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Expect fertilizer prices to resume increasing, despite having fallen back recently. Prices began their sharp rise around the middle of December and beginning of January. “They will go higher as demand goes up at seeding time,” Mike Jubinville of MarketsFarm Pro in Winnipeg said. Jubinville reported urea prices have jumped $100 per tonne […] Read more

A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley demand pressures domestic supply

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Increasing demand for feed barley has created a strong but extremely tightened market for the crop and it may potentially buck seeding predictions for 2021-22. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in Winnipeg, said rising demand from China is also raising prices for feed barley, urging growers to […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Malt barley demand rises, at home and abroad

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Domestic malt barley is facing pressure from both inside and outside Canada’s borders as demand for both malt and feed barley has increased. With domestic feed barley prices rising and domestic supplies shrinking with increased exports to China, high-quality malt barley has found its way to feed channels as growers look to sell […] Read more

CBOT March 2021 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: CBOT corn, soybeans rebound on strong demand

March wheat closes weak

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean futures rose on Thursday, with end users stepping in to buy the market one day after prices posted sharp declines. “On hard breaks, the end users really need the supply,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa. “They are […] Read more


ICE May 2021 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Volatility day-to-day in bullish canola market

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market saw some large price moves during the week ended Wednesday, hitting fresh contract highs in many months before profit-taking came forward to weigh on values. With canola trading at historically high price levels, the potential volatility in the marketplace can go to extreme levels without much explanation, analyst […] Read more

File photo of a barley field in Argentina. (Juan Pablo Marchelletti/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentine truckers end strike, freeing China-bound barley

Canada, France would have been buyers' Plan B

Reading Time: 2 minutes Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine truckers ended a 20-day strike that had blocked access to ports in Buenos Aires province, agricultural industry sources said on Tuesday, following a deal struck with local officials to increase freight-hauling rates. Trucks owners grouped in the informal TUDA association (Transportistas Unidos de Argentina) began blocking highways last month, […] Read more