CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

CBOT weekly outlook: Poor crop ratings keep soy, corn supported

Major changes not expected in next WASDE

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Hot and dry weather conditions cutting into crop ratings for soybeans and corn in the U.S. could see prices for both crops rise above nearby chart resistance levels, although the looming harvest may temper the upside potential. Both soybeans and corn were rated 53 per cent good-to-excellent in the latest weekly crop report […] Read more

Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal in this file photo. (CIA.gov)

Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain

Lake feeding canal low on rainfall

Reading Time: 2 minutes Panama City | Reuters — The Panama Canal’s water levels have not recovered enough as the end of the rainy season approaches and limits on daily transit and vessel draft will stay in place for the rest of the year and throughout 2024, the waterway’s authority said on Tuesday. The restrictions, implemented earlier this year […] Read more


File photo of idled equipment in drought conditions on a farm in New South Wales, Australia. (f.ield_of_vision/iStock/Getty Images)

Australian crop estimates adjusted slightly lower

Crop seen down 34 per cent from last year

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Total 2023-24 winter crop production in Australia, at an estimated 45.2 million tonnes, is expected to be 34 per cent off the record highs hit last year but slightly above the June forecast as upward revisions to canola and barley counter a downward revision to the wheat number, according to the latest crop […] Read more

ICE November 2023 FCOJ with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Orange juice prices near all-time high as storm hits Florida

Crop was already expected to be small

Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters — Orange juice prices at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) rose more than three per cent on Wednesday, heading back toward an all-time high hit earlier this month, as storm Idalia slammed parts of main U.S. orange producer Florida. Contracts for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) at ICE hit a high of […] Read more


Durum plants on Aug. 28, 2023 near Acadia Valley, Alta., about 160 km north of Medicine Hat, stand shorter with fewer kernels than normal due to dry conditions. (Photo courtesy Darold Niwa/Handout via Reuters)

Prairie Forecast: Mostly sunny and warm

Issued Aug. 30, covering Aug. 30 to Sept. 6

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a straightforward forecast for this period as the general weather pattern looks to be pretty quiet. It starts with a large area of high pressure centred over the Great Lakes with a weak area of low pressure over Alberta. The Great Lakes high will put sunny skies and warm temperatures over much of Manitoba […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans climb on weather risk, export demand

Pro Farmer tour predicts corn, soy crops below USDA estimate

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans climbed on Friday, bolstered by extreme heat and mixed results on the final day of a Midwest crop tour. Corn traded much of the day mixed, ending just under even as crop production remains robust, despite recent yield-eroding weather. Wheat fell as global supplies remain plentiful, though signs of […] Read more


Prairie forecast: unsettled to start then clearing and warmer

Prairie forecast: unsettled to start then clearing and warmer

Issued Aug. 23, covering Aug. 23 to 30

Reading Time: 3 minutes Once again, the weather models are in good agreement so confidence in this forecast is fairly high. The only possible issue is that the different weather systems are rather weak which means timing of the systems can change easily. This forecast period starts off with two weak areas of low pressure, one over southern Manitoba, […] Read more

Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal in this file photo. (CIA.gov)

Panama Canal’s drought-induced bottleneck eases

Some vessels detour; transits per day still reduced

Reading Time: 2 minutes Panama City | Reuters — A backlog of vessels waiting to pass the Panama Canal due to drought-related restrictions has eased in recent days after the waterway’s authority authorized more non-booked ships to pass and as others are choosing alternate routes to avoid the delays. The Panama Canal Authority last week opened two additional slots […] Read more


A climate change activist plays a violin in New York City’s Times Square as Manhattan is shrouded in haze and smoke which drifted south from wildfires in Canada, on June 7, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Maye-E Wong)

Climate change made Quebec wildfires twice as likely, scientists say

Early snow disappearance led to earlier fires

Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — The fires that tore through the province of Quebec between May and July were made at least twice as likely by climate change, scientists said on Tuesday. Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, also made the fires as much as 50 per cent more intense, according to the […] Read more

File photo of farmland around an abandoned farmstead near Swift Current, Sask. (ImagineGolf/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan front-loads AgriRecovery funding

Joint federal-provincial program development still underway

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Saskatchewan government says it will put up to $70 million toward “immediate measures” to support livestock producers, ahead of an expected federal-provincial AgriRecovery program for that purpose. Application forms are expected to be available via Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC) “in the coming days” for funding “to help offset extraordinary costs of feeding livestock […] Read more