Crops
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Wednesday, shrugging off weakness in the dollar as investors locked in profits following two days of sharp gains, traders said. Soybean futures ended lower, too, pressured by commercial hedging after farmers booked sales on the cash market following a rally that pushed futures prices to their […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, soybeans sag after rally
Sources say BASF mulling potential bid for Syngenta
Reuters — German chemicals group BASF is considering a potential offer for Syngenta, its Swiss rival which has received a C$56 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. BASF is speaking to investment bankers about the possibility of an offer for Syngenta, though it has made no decision and […] Read more
Sask. producer car loader firm owners approve AGT bid
Shareholders in a western Saskatchewan producer car loading firm have approved a deal to sell their loading sites to Regina pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients for $22 million. AGT announced Tuesday it has completed its deal, announced in April, to buy the bulk loading assets from Eston, Sask.-based West Central Road and Rail. The […] Read more
Rural Alberta students promote ag in Calgary
Acme high school students became teachers for a day
Reading Time: < 1 minute Two high school students from Acme — Monique Uittenbogerd and Maria Penner — recently became teachers for the day, educating over 100 Little Green Thumbs elementary students in Calgary about life on the farm. The Little Green Thumbs program is part of Ag for Life’s educational outreach efforts and informs 5,000 students across Alberta about […] Read more
Expansion in U.S. ethanol on hold after blending targets slashed
Chicago | Reuters –– Expansion in the U.S. ethanol industry, stuck in neutral for more than a year as the government debated biofuel blending requirements, is now likely to come to a screeching halt. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week essentially maintaining the so-called blend wall that mandates nearly every gallon of gasoline […] Read more
Cutworm, flea beetle pressure piling on Prairie crops
CNS Canada — High levels of cutworms and flea beetles are damaging crops in Western Canada this spring, according to Manitoba’s crop entomologist. Manitoba growers started noticing damage from cutworms this week, said John Gavloski, extension entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in Carman. “They were there in the fields, but they were […] Read more
Prairie canola basis levels soften as futures rally
CNS Canada — The ICE Futures Canada canola market has moved sharply higher recently, but the cash market hasn’t followed along, as basis levels have generally seen a softening trend. “Generally we’ve been seeing companies widen their basis levels out a bit. Some have held them steady, some have just crept them out a little […] Read more
Canada preparing shorter list of tariff targets in COOL fight
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is whittling down its list of U.S. products that it may hit with steep tariffs in retaliation against contentious meat-labeling laws, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday. The Canadian government is likely to target beef, pork, California wines, mattresses, cherries and office furniture, possibly along with other goods, from […] Read more
U.S. grains: Lower greenback sparks rally in wheat, corn, soy
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures rallied on Tuesday, supported by a steep decline in the U.S. dollar that made all three commodities more attractive to investors looking for a hedge against inflation, traders said. Wheat notched the biggest gain, with the front-month Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) contract surging 3.8 […] Read more
CWB’s chosen suitor weighs West Coast terminal idea
The new Prairie grain player tapped to take a majority stake in the former Canadian Wheat Board is now considering the possibility of its own port terminal. Bunge Canada and Saudi-owned crown corporation SALIC Canada, in their joint venture G3 Global Holdings, have agreed to a separate joint venture with West Coast port logistics firm […] Read more