File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Strong demand supporting pea prices

MarketsFarm — There has continued to be a strong demand for peas, as demonstrated by data from the Canadian Grain Commission. And that has been supporting price increases, according to Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg. “The overall demand has been very, very good,” she said. In the most recent export data […] Read more

Onions are sold at a market at Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums, in Mumbai, India on April 7, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

High food prices hurting India’s poor

Inflation pain expected to persist for months yet

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s retail inflation may stay elevated for at least three more months after hitting a six-year high in October, as excess rain has damaged standing crops and seedlings, while edible oils that the country imports have become expensive. The high prices are a particular cause of concern for India’s hundreds […] Read more


Louis Dreyfus’ oilseed processing plant at Yorkton, Sask. (LDC.com)

Louis Dreyfus to gain first outside investor

Abu Dhabi's ADQ fund to acquire indirect 45 per cent stake

Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has agreed to sell a 45 per cent stake to Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, the companies said on Wednesday, the first outside investment in the family-owned commodity merchant’s 169-year-old history. The deal comes after a search by chairwoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus for an investor to relieve debt built up […] Read more

Smoke rises from the site of burning railcars at a CP derailment near Guernsey, Sask., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nayan Sthankiya)

New rail speed limits to be based on temperatures

Railways wanting to run under new limits must develop winter operation plans

Given the odds of weird temperature swings happening somewhere in Canada at any time of year, railways will now instead be required to slow their trains’ speeds based on how cold it is outside at the time, rather than a date range. Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Friday announced a new ministerial order meant […] Read more


(Serts/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Export demand supports lentils

India set to extend current tariff reductions

MarketsFarm — Lentil prices in Western Canada saw a counter-seasonal rally at the end of harvest and are likely to sustain that rally into winter. “Prices are going to keep going higher,” Darcy Barie, a commodity buyer with Verdient Foods at Vanscoy, Sask., said. Ahead of the 2020 harvest, red lentils were around 24 cents/lb. […] Read more

The McDonald’s “P.L.T.” (CNW Group/McDonald’s Canada)

McDonald’s to make its own ‘McPlant’ items

Beyond Meat says co-created patty

Reuters — Burger chain McDonald’s on Monday decided to debut its own plant-based meat alternatives line called “McPlant” in 2021, including a patty that Beyond Meat subsequently said it helped co-create. “Beyond Meat and McDonald’s co-created the plant-based patty which will be available as part of their McPlant platform,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in […] Read more


(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Baltic Dry Index at four-month lows

Declining demand seen from China

MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have fallen off of their highs of the past year over the course of the past month, but remain well above the lows hit in the spring when global markets first started reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved […] Read more



The importance of strengthening the connection between Canadian farmers and the customers who buy their grain was the biggest lesson Alberta grain grower Todd Hames says he learned during his stint as chair of Cereals Canada.

Savour it: The stars have aligned for crop producers

Demand, prices and shipping are all strong, and that’s not something that happens very often

Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a huge good news story coming out of 2020 for crop producers. Or rather, three of them — demand is up, prices are good, and shipping is going like gangbusters. “Total volumes are up about 23 per cent year over year,” said Brennan Turner, CEO of online grain-marketing company FarmLead. “We moved about 8.34 […] Read more