CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy rallies on expectations for higher exports

U.S. yield estimates may decline more, analysts say

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures on Friday rallied to their highest since June 2018 as traders projected an increase in the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast for exports with a further cut in domestic production. Corn futures reached a six-month high, while wheat futures fell to a two-week low. USDA, […] Read more

Subject: Storage grain bin silos in a field of matured corn crop in harvest time.

Minnesota fields thrive, Iowa storm damage continues on crop tour

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Scouts on an annual U.S. Midwest crop tour continued to see fields battered by an Aug. 10 derecho storm in central Iowa on Thursday, with corn stalks snapped and ears littering the ground due to the hurricane-like winds. In Iowa, crop prospects swung wildly from field to field, according to scouts […] Read more


File photo of an Alberta wheat field. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Crop tour suggests record-large wheat harvest ahead

Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers are on track to harvest a record-large all-wheat crop, and more canola than last year, due mainly to favourable crop conditions, advisory service FarmLink Marketing Solutions estimated Wednesday. The Winnipeg-based company’s staff toured western Canadian fields during the last two weeks of July. “We expected a big crop and […] Read more

Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market under pressure

Current crop up against disease issues

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Lost demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping pressure on the Canadian chickpea market, despite disease issues causing problems for nearly a third of the country’s crop, according to an industry source. After disease caused problems for chickpeas in some areas of southern Saskatchewan in 2019, the radius of the problem area […] Read more


A farmer walks through a field of maize near Chikuni in the south of Zambia on Feb. 21, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi)

U.S. farming body, Zambian firm partner aim to boost crop yields

Country rebuilding drought-battered ag sector

Reading Time: < 1 minute Lusaka | Reuters — A U.S. non-profit organization has launched a US$40 million joint venture with one of Zambia’s top farm suppliers to boost crop yields and food security as farmers struggle to access finance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the local company said on Sunday. The chairman of African Green Resources (AGR), Zuneid Yousuf, said […] Read more

File photo of a sunflower crop in Manitoba. (MysticEnergy/Getty Images)

Strong demand supports sunflowers

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Global demand for sunflower oil is steadily increasing, according to Scoular’s Robert Deraas. Deraas, director of the Scoular Co.’s sunflower and bird food division, explained Wednesday at CropConnect in Winnipeg that the majority of Canadian sunflowers are grown for oil purposes. Increases in demand are driven largely by health-conscious consumers who use sunflower […] Read more


(JohnnyMad/Getty Images)

Variable yields supportive for mustard prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s principal field crop production report last week estimated a significant drop in Canada’s 2019 mustard production. In September, the agency estimated Canadian mustard would total about 141,000 tonnes. However, due to challenging growing conditions and a slight reduction in acreage, the StatsCan estimates released Friday were revised downward to 134,600 tonnes. […] Read more

ICE November 2019 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola trade’s eyes on StatsCan report

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Although Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released its production forecast Wednesday, markets are focused on next week’s production report from Statistics Canada — a survey-based report which should provide a clearer picture of what’s to come. AAFC’s August report kept the canola production estimate at July’s 18.575 million tonnes. “Maybe we’ll see if […] Read more


CBOT December 2019 corn with Bollinger bands, a gauge of market volatility. (Barchart)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. grain traders watch yields, demand

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn prices on the Chicago Board of Trade remain at the behest of geopolitical pressures and questionable crop yields. Terry Reilly, a grains analyst with Futures International in Chicago, said traders are keeping a close eye on the U.S. Pro Farmer tour throughout the eastern Corn Belt region. The tour has […] Read more

(FIle photo by Allan Dawson)

Winter wheat harvest varies by province

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Depending where a farmer is located, Canada’s winter wheat crop has varied this year. Ontario has long been the country’s powerhouse for winter wheat. Statistics Canada projected the province’s farmers to seed just over one million acres this year, nearly 75 per cent of Canada’s total winter wheat acres. However, Marty Vermey, senior […] Read more