In the days since August 9, panic has begun setting in within the agricultural industry. The country has never seen a labour dispute that resulted in a strike or lockout from both of Canada’s rail companies. With harvest ramping up, a suspension of rail services would be disastrous for the industry.

The rail lockout: How did we get here?

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn fall on bumper yield forecasts; wheat steadies
Chicago Board of Trade soybeans and corn futures turned lower on Friday, with both also notching a third weekly loss, as farmers kept clearing out their grain bins ahead of a U.S. harvest that is forecast to see massive yields, traders said.

Combines making their rounds in Alberta
s the harvesting of fall crops in Alberta exceeded the halfway point, the combining of the province’s spring cereals was just beginning, according to the latest Alberta crop report.

Prairie Wheat Weekly: Prices mixed
Cash wheat prices for Canada Prairie Red Spring Wheat, Canadian Western Red Spring Wheat, and Canadian Western Amber Durum were mixed for the week ended Aug. 15. The futures market in the United States saw gains in Minneapolis spring wheat and losses for Chicago and Kansas City winter wheat.

Ukraine completes 2024 wheat harvest at 21.7 mln tons, ministry says
Ukraine has completed the 2024 wheat harvest, threshing 21.7 million metric tons of wheat from about 4.8 million hectares, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.

Agriculture groups campaign against rail strike
Pulse Canada has organized a letter writing campaign to push the government to halt the looming labour stoppage at Canada's railways.

U.S. livestock: cattle futures dip on stronger dollar, slow cash trade
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live and feeder cattle futures eased on Thursday, as generally quiet cash market and a strengthening U.S. dollar left cattle futures in a range-bound trade, traders said.

U.S. grains: Wheat loses overnight rally; soybeans and corn futures dip
Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended lower on Thursday as cheap Black Sea exports kept weighing on the market, which had risen overnight on a rally sparked by a Russian attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure.

Saskatchewan harvest underway amid hot and dry weather
Pasture conditions in much of Saskatchewan were diminishing due to the hot and dry conditions. While sporadic rainfall in north and east parts of the province will benefit later seeded crops as they mature, but came too late for early seeded crops.

Feed Grain Weekly: Prices need to become cheaper to generate demand
An ongoing lack of demand has forced feed grain prices to drop back recently, according to Darcy Haley, vice-president of AgValue Brokers in Lethbridge.