CBOT November 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures ease on improving weather

CBOT wheat firms on export news

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures fell on Wednesday on forecasts for improving weather in the Midwest, including rains next week that should boost crop production prospects, analysts said. Wheat futures rose as traders awaited the outcome of Egyptian wheat purchase negotiations, as well as talks on a possible deal to boost […] Read more

Excessive heat warnings (in magenta) and heat advisories (in orange) were in place July 19, 2022 for areas across much of the southern U.S. Plains. (Weather.gov)

Sizzling heat stresses livestock, crops in southern U.S. Plains

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Scorching temperatures in the southern U.S. Plains are stressing cattle as well as crops such as cotton, corn and soybeans, meteorologists and traders said on Tuesday. Temperatures were forecast to reach 111 F (44 C) in parts of the Texas Panhandle, a core area for cotton and cattle production. While much […] Read more


File photo of a village in northeastern Uganda’s remote Karamoja region. (Guenterguni/iStock/Getty Images)

More than 200 people die as drought ravages northeast Uganda

Reading Time: < 1 minute Kampala | Reuters — More than 200 people have died from hunger this month in northeastern Uganda, where a prolonged drought and rampant insecurity have left more than half a million facing starvation, a local official and a charity worker said. Inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, the semi-arid and remote Karamoja region on the border with […] Read more

CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat up on broad commodity strength

Crop-stressing dry heat expected in Midwest

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat futures rose on Monday in response to worries about potentially stressful hot weather in the Midwest and Europe, coupled with bullish sentiment in crude oil and a weaker dollar, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade benchmark December corn settled up seven cents at $6.10-3/4 per bushel, […] Read more


CME August 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures up on hot spell, firm meat prices

Heat wave lowers animals' rate of gain

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Monday on spillover strength from outside markets including Wall Street, as well as firm wholesale beef prices and worries about hot weather stressing cattle in the Plains and Midwest, traders said. CME August live cattle futures settled up 0.7 cent at 135.625 cents/lb., […] Read more

File photo of federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on a tour of one of the original ‘Living Lab’ sites in Quebec that led up to the launch of the national ACS program in 2021. (Photo courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Feds boost Living Labs’ reach to all provinces

Nine projects, including first-Indigenous led lab, share $54M

Reading Time: 3 minutes The first crop of federally-funded “Living Labs” backed by the Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) program, set up to prove carbon-sequestering on-farm processes, takes the concept to the six provinces where such farm-level labs weren’t yet in place. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, speaking Thursday in Calgary, announced $54 million from the $185 million, 10-year ACS program […] Read more


A Canada-wide map of drought conditions. Photo credit: Canadian Drought Monitor

Drought conditions remain in Alberta, Saskatchewan

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — After copious amounts of precipitation alleviated the most severe drought conditions in Saskatchewan and Alberta, there were still some areas dealing with extreme dryness entering July, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. At the end of June, only 22 per cent of the Prairie region was classified in the Abnormally Dry (D0) to […] Read more

CBOT November 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, dark green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn firm on weather worries

CBOT wheat drops; grain traders also positioning ahead of Tuesday's USDA report

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures climbed on Monday on forecasts for hot, dry conditions across the Midwest farm belt as well as technical buying and positioning ahead of Tuesday’s monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply-and-demand reports. The market eased from overnight highs, however, as updated weather models appeared slightly less […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

StatCan raises Canada’s canola plantings from earlier estimate

Farmers seen returning to 'steady Eddie' wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm –– Canadian canola plantings are projected to come in above earlier expectations but would still be well below what was seeded to the crop in 2021, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada released Tuesday. Meanwhile, wheat area in the country is forecast at its highest level in nearly a decade. After a […] Read more

Flea beetles in canola seedlings. (Canola Council of Canada video screengrab via YouTube)

Flea beetles an issue in parts of Saskatchewan

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Delays to spring seeding in some regions of Saskatchewan, such as the northeast, have opened the door for infestations of flea beetles, according to provincial pest management specialist James Tansey. Canola crops that were planted later than normal are suffering from flea beetles, he said. Extremely late-seeded canola has been relatively free from […] Read more