Construction presses on at Roquette’s pea-processing plant at Portage la Prairie, Man. (Roquette photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba pea plant construction continues

MarketsFarm — Work continues on Roquette’s pea processing plant at Portage la Prairie, Man., where the French plant-protein firm says measures have been taken to meet health and safety regulations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. “Beginning in early March we proactively started collaborating with contractors on COVID-19 prevention measures, such as increased cleaning of communal spaces […] Read more


CBOT July 2020 soybeans (candlesticks) with NYMEX July 2020 WTI crude oil (blue line). (Barchart)

CBOT weekly outlook: Crude volatility holds down corn, soy

MarketsFarm — Hit by an unprecedented crash in North American crude oil prices, particularly this week, corn and soybeans have struggled at the Chicago Board of Trade, according to Terry Reilly of Futures International. As the May contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) wrapped up earlier this week, it crashed so badly its price turned […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Durum holds steady, other spring wheats down

MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly lower for the week ended Thursday, due to declines in U.S. markets. Support came from a weaker Canadian dollar. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats were lower, while Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) was steady to higher. Average CWRS (13.5 […] Read more


ICE May 2020 canola (candlesticks, in Cdn$) and CBOT May 2020 soymeal (yellow line, US$). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Loonie’s rally kept canola lower

CBOT soymeal, soyoil also drag on canola

MarketsFarm — Canola prices dropped over the last week due to a combination of factors, according to David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg. The Canadian dollar was one of those factors, as it had a small rally that pushed the loonie to almost 72 U.S. cents. That rally ended Wednesday, however, when the dollar […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Pandemic to delay StatsCan’s agriculture reports

MarketsFarm — Farmers, commodity traders and market analysts will have to wait a while for agriculture-related reports from Statistics Canada in 2020. The main reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Seay, an analyst with StatsCan’s agriculture, energy, environment and transportation statistics branch in Ottawa. “Given the COVID-19 outbreak, senior management is […] Read more


A canola field blooms in Manitoba’s Interlake on July 11, 2019.  (Greg Berg photo)

Canola production paths diverge for Canada, Australia

Issues seen in Canadian crop quality, logistics

MarketsFarm — Canola production is on different paths in Canada and Australia, according to the respective attachés from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the world’s top two canola exporters, the attachés forecast production in Canada to remain steady and project strong gains for Australia. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published the reports Monday, […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Prices a mixed bag

U.S. futures, loonie down on week

MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada saw gains and losses for the week ended Thursday, due to declines in U.S. markets and a lower Canadian dollar. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat was mixed with some losses, but prices steady to higher in six of the Prairie regions. Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) was […] Read more