(Dave Bedard photo)

Managed money adding to net short positions in canola

Canola at biggest net short position in months

MarketsFarm — Managed money fund traders remain bearish canola, growing the net short position in the ICE Futures market to the second largest level of the past year, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of Oct. 17, the net managed money short position in […] Read more

CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn drops back below US$5

Soybeans down off one-month high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower after hitting their highest price since August on Friday, while soybean futures retreated from a one-month high. Traders took profits after the markets rose earlier on concerns about a drought in Brazil disrupting grain shipments on rivers and slowing soy plantings, analysts said. […] Read more


A view shows limp wheat plants, a result of the climate phenomenon La Nina, at a farm in Navarro, in Buenos Aires province, Argentina Dec. 5, 2022.

New drought in Argentina threatens ‘massive losses’

Rosario Grains Exchange report sees little relief on horizon

Reading Time: < 1 minute Argentina’s core agricultural farmland could suffer “massive losses” in wheat yields due to another drought, the Rosario Grains Exchange warns, even as the country reels from a drought in the last cycle deemed the worst in 60 years. The exchange has not yet changed its forecast for a 15 million tonne wheat harvest for the […] Read more

File photo of vessels on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Low water on Mississippi to persist despite improved drought outlook

Risk of getting stuck mean less grain per barge

Chicago | Reuters — Low water levels on the lower Mississippi River are likely to persist through at least January despite expected above-normal precipitation across the southern U.S. this winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday. The severe to exceptional drought choking the lower Mississippi River valley is expected to […] Read more


Photo: File

Feed weekly outlook: Grains steady, waiting on U.S. corn imports

Barley yields might beat StatCan expectations

MarketsFarm — More feed barley is reportedly making its way into Alberta cattle rations for the time being as recently-harvested supplies are competitive with corn imports from the U.S. While nearby demand is keeping the domestic market reasonably steady, more corn will likely start making its way north over the next month. Feed barley is […] Read more

One Canada Square (tower at centre) houses the London head office of the International Grains Council (IGC). (Iliffd/iStock/Getty Images)

Cuts to corn output drag IGC’s overall estimates lower

Wheat production estimate up, soy down

MarketsFarm — Reductions to global corn production for 2023-24 resulted in the International Grains Council cutting some of its numbers in its monthly supply and demand report issued Thursday. The London-based IGC reduced its forecast for world corn output from its September call of approximately 1.222 billion tonnes, to 1.219 billion. Although total use in […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures rally to August high

Strong demand in U.S. supports CBOT soybeans

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rallied above US$5 a bushel to their highest level since August on Thursday, while soybean futures touched a four-week high. The gains came as farmers are in the middle of harvesting their crops, a time when the influx of fresh supplies normally pressures prices. A severe drought that […] Read more

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Corn rangebound, soybeans rising, wheat erratic

Chicago wheat fluctuation 'just drives you nuts'

MarketsFarm — While soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade have moved higher over the past week, corn was rangebound and wheat lacked any clear direction in choppy trade, making it hard to predict where values may go from here, according to Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodities in Barrington, Ill. Capinegro said the December […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow high/low/close) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat firms on bargain buying, corn follows suit

Soybeans hit three-week high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rose for the first time in three sessions on bargain buying on Wednesday, with corn futures following, traders said. Wheat futures also gained a mid-session boost on rekindled market speculation that India, a leading wheat producer, may be tight on supplies. India raised the price at which it […] Read more

(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Ontario demand sets the price structure for calves

Corn in Ontario at $232/tonne, U.S. corn in southern Alberta at $315

For the week ending Oct. 14, western Canadian yearling prices were steady to $4 higher compared to a week earlier. Calves in the range of 500 to 800 pounds traded $4-$6 lower in Alberta. However, in eastern Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, calves in this weight category were relatively unchanged compared to the previous week. In […] Read more