Detail on the Chicago Board of Trade building. (Kevinstack22/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: wheat soars daily limit as Russia attacks Ukrainian grain ports

E.U. further reduces crop forecast, USDA ratings for soybean and spring wheat declines

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. wheat futures surged 8.6% on Monday, rising their daily maximum at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) after Russia attacked Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure, including the first attack on Danube River grain warehouses. The attacks targeted a vital export route for Kyiv in an expanding air campaign that Moscow began […] Read more

The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

U.S. Grains: wheat futures drop, corn weak, soybeans mixed

Market going "from forecast to forecast" says expert

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. wheat futures dropped 4.1 per cent on Friday, with traders locking in profits from a rally sparked by escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war that raised the prospects of export disruptions from the two key global suppliers. Corn futures also were weaker, pressured by forecasts that showed more rain and cooler temperatures in […] Read more


File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

Rain in China’s northeast brings relief for corn, drought risk remains

An oversupply of hogs, weak demand are pressuring pork prices

Beijing | Reuters – Recent rainfall in China’s northeastern breadbasket has relieved drought across most of the region, an agriculture ministry official said Friday, but risks remain with the El Nino weather pattern potentially bringing more extreme weather this summer. China is the world’s second-biggest corn producer and about 40 per cent of its crop […] Read more

Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

U.S. Grains: CBOT wheat futures dip after rally; corn, soybeans also lower

Wheat futures had risen in four of the previous five sessions

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dipped on Thursday but remained near recent peaks as a third night of Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports renewed concerns about disruptions to exports needed to meet world demand and stave off rising food prices. Wheat futures had risen in four of the previous five […] Read more


A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Dry weather cuts into barley prospects

Canadian buyers already booking new-crop U.S. corn

MarketsFarm — Dry weather across the Canadian Prairies may be cutting into barley production prospects, keeping domestic feed prices underpinned for the time being despite the likelihood of large corn imports from the United States. Alberta’s barley crop was only rated 43 per cent good to excellent in the latest weekly report, well off the […] Read more

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U.S. grains: wheat sees biggest jump since aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Soybean futures have risen for five sessions in a row

Chicago | Reuters U.S. wheat futures jumped 8.5% on Wednesday, their biggest daily gain since days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as intensification of the war threatened to slow grain export shipments from a major global supplier. The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract Wv1 briefly touched its daily trading limit […] Read more


The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly update: Dry conditions, war propel prices upward

Rally may push well into the week of July 24 and perhaps further: broker

MarketsFarm – Prices on the Chicago Board of Trade continued to rally on July 19, and to Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodity Brokers of Barrington, Ill., they appeared set to push higher.  Capinegro pointed to the hot and dry weather across much of the United States as the main reason for the gains being made […] Read more

A pedestrian walkway through Xinglonghu Park in Chengdu in southwestern China in April 2022.

Schoepp: Forced farming

Autocratic regimes seem hell-bent on returning to the scary past by implementing planned agriculture

Reading Time: 3 minutes A troubling trend is creeping up on global farmers as governments control food production and eliminate crop diversity. In China, “non-grain” farming has become the target of the Rural Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade, or nongguan, which exercises agricultural administrative penalties and related inspections for the Agriculture and Rural Development ministries. The areas that farmers […] Read more


The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

US Grains: wheat futures end firmer amid Black Sea supply worries

Ukrainian officials said Russian air strikes damaged the port of Odesa

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures finished stronger on Tuesday after Ukrainian officials said Russian air strikes damaged infrastructure at the port of Odesa, a day after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain export deal. The strikes diminished some expectations that Russia may still renew the export deal, analysts said. Markets […] Read more

CBOT September 2023 soft red winter wheat with Bollinger bands (20,2), MGEX September 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. September 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn fall as Black Sea grain deal expires

Grain traders hope pact may still be renewed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures fell on Monday as Russia’s exit from the Black Sea export deal failed to shock traders. Wheat and corn futures slumped after earlier rising to two-week highs when Russia announced it was leaving the agreement that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea. Russia had long threatened […] Read more