Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s election season for many of Alberta’s farm organizations but it can feel like pulling teeth to get farmers involved, say representatives of grower groups. The positions are not necessarily as time-consuming as farmers may think because there are many people to help and in many cases work-life balance is prioritized. “It has to be […] Read more

Don’t fear involvement in ag groups, say commission reps
There are more benefits than losses when you nominate yourself for a board

U.S. grains: Soybeans hit August high, soymeal climbs on strong demand
U.S. soy crush likely set record monthly high in October
U.S. soybean futures jumped to their highest price since August on Tuesday on concerns about unfavorable crop weather in top supplier Brazil, analysts said. A rally to contract highs in soymeal futures helped lift the soybean market.

Legislation allows Quebec’s UPA to rework funding formula
Bill 28 passes Quebec assembly
Quebec’s legislative assembly has passed a bill allowing the province’s overarching general farm organization, the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), to start the process toward a new funding model. Provincial Agriculture Minister Andre Lamontagne on Thursday announced the passage of Bill 28, which amends legislation governing organization of farming activities and the accreditation of UPA. […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago soy soars on Chinese buying, Brazilian weather
Corn futures rise on U.S. sales to Mexico
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures sharply rallied on Monday on Chinese demand and scorching heat in Brazil, where farmers are expected to face crop-stressing temperatures over the next several days. Meanwhile, corn futures rose on technical trading and support from news of Mexico buying U.S. grain — a move up that also gave […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago corn slumps on forecast for record-large crop
Crude oil recovery lends some support to grains
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures posted a third straight weekly decline on Friday, as traders reacted to a government forecast that U.S. farmers will produce a record-large crop this year. Wheat was lower, following corn. Commodity funds hold a sizeable net short position in Chicago wheat futures, leaving the market prone to volatility […] Read more

Storage strategies change with bigger bins
As storage systems have grown, more attention is needed to keep crops safe
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – In the 1970s, a standard bin was 14 feet in diameter with a capacity of 1,350 bushels. High rollers might add an extra ring to stretch that another 300 bu. There were bins 19 feet in diameter, with a 2,700 bu. capacity, but few farmers bought them because they were hard to […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago grain, soy futures drop after USDA forecasts
China buys over one million tonnes of U.S. soy
Chicago | Reuters — The Chicago Board of Trade’s most-active corn futures plunged sharply on Thursday after the government reported that U.S. farmers will produce the biggest-ever corn crop this year. The report’s forecast topped trade estimates. The most-active CBOT corn contract at one point dipped to $4.66-1/2, the lowest price since Dec. 30, 2020, […] Read more

El Nino to continue through Northern Hemisphere spring, U.S. forecaster says
Reuters — El Nino weather conditions will continue through the Northern Hemisphere during April-June 2024 with a 62 per cent chance, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. “Above-average sea surface temperatures (SST) across the equatorial Pacific Ocean were indicative of a strong El Nino, with anomalies increasing in the central and east-central Pacific […] Read more

USDA’s WASDE report throws a few curveballs
Corn carryover up significantly
MarketsFarm — There were some surprises in the November world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released Thursday. USDA defied trade expectations when it came to 2023-24 ending stocks of U.S. corn, soybeans, and all wheat, with those being higher. As well, the department came in above what the […] Read more

Bayer’s crop marketing, crop production platforms in sync
FieldView, Combyne platforms now integrated
Combyne, the made-in-Canada grain marketing platform Bayer bought earlier this year, is now fully on speaking terms with the company’s Climate FieldView precision ag platform. Bayer on Oct. 30 announced integration of the two platforms, which it said will allow grain farmers in Canada and the U.S. to connect their marketing data in Combyne and […] Read more