Reuters — Constellation Brands said on Wednesday it was considering taking a part of its Canadian wine business public and reported better-than-expected quarterly net sales, helped by strong demand for its premium Corona and Modelo beers. Shares of the New York-based wine, beer and spirits company, which forecast full-year profit largely above estimates, rose as […] Read more

Constellation considering Canadian wine IPO

U.S. grains: Soy dips as farmers are expected to expand plantings
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures on Tuesday extended a setback from the nearly eight-month highs reached a day earlier, as wet weather fueled projections that farmers will plant more fields with the oilseed than previously expected. Rainy, cool conditions in the U.S. South and Midwest could prompt growers to switch one million to […] Read more

Klassen: Feedlot operators throw in towel on feeder market
Weaker wholesale beef values, along with softer fed cattle prices, set a negative tone for the feeder cattle market this past week. Western Canadian feeder markets were trading $4-$8 below week-ago levels, with calves trading as much as $10 lower in some cases. Producers can become nauseous watching these live cattle futures, but this is […] Read more

China’s farmers switch to soy amid corn market reform
Reuters — Wang Zhonghai, a 49-year-old farmer in China’s top corn producing province of Heilongjiang, plans to switch 80 per cent of his land to cultivate soybeans this year as the government ends a near-decade-old corn price support scheme. China announced last week it will stop its corn stockpiling program and allow markets to set […] Read more

California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use
Sacramento | Reuters –– Residents and businesses in drought-stricken California cut back water use by nearly 25 per cent from June 2015 through the end of February 2016 — enough to supply nearly six million people for a year, officials said Monday. The state’s first ever mandatory cutbacks in water use were imposed by Democratic […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans retreat from August peak
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures slumped on Monday as traders took profits after prices reached their highest point since August on technical buying and last week’s government forecast for lower-than-expected plantings. Corn prices ended mixed as traders digested the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) estimate for much larger-than-expected U.S. plantings of the yellow […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs fall to 10-week lows on pork price losses
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hogs tumbled to the lowest in 10 weeks on Friday as pork price declines triggered selling by technical traders and investment funds, traders and analysts said. Hogs fell more than one per cent at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, led by losses in deferred contracts such as June and August […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat extend gains after planting forecasts
Reuters — U.S. soybean and wheat futures rose on Friday as estimates of smaller-than-expected U.S. plantings spurred buying. Corn bounced off a 9-1/2-month low to finish up on bargain-buying. Chicago Board of Trade May soybeans rose 7-1/2 cents or 0.9 per cent to $9.18-1/4 a bushel, racking up a fifth straight weekly gain (all figures […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle limit up on bearish corn data
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures on Thursday settled up their 4.5-cents/lb. maximum daily price limit, spurred by the morning’s bearish government grain report, traders said. U.S. farmers intend to plant 93.6 million acres of corn and 82.2 million acres of soybeans in 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on […] Read more

U.S. acreage plans not set in stone as corn price drops
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. farmers could plant more soybean acres than suggested in the government’s acreage forecast issued Thursday, as recent gains in the futures market tempted them to alter their corn-heavy seeding plans, growers and analysts said. The U.S. Agriculture Department report showed farmers intend to plant 93.601 million acres of corn this […] Read more