World Food Programme executive director David Beasley speaks during an interview with Reuters in Doha, Qatar on Aug. 24, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Alexander Cornwell)

Afghanistan ‘marching towards starvation,’ UN food chief says

Doha | Reuters — Millions of Afghans could soon face starvation due to a combination of conflict, drought and the coronavirus pandemic, the executive director of the World Food Programme said on Tuesday, calling on political leaders to act fast. “There’s a perfect storm coming because of several years of drought, conflict, economic deterioration, compounded […] Read more

(Lentils.ca)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils up on lower production, stronger demand

MarketsFarm — As with so many other crops on the Prairies, production of lentils will be lower this year due to the drought. However, MarketsFarm Pro senior analyst Mike Jubinville said the lentil crop likely fared a bit better than cereals or oilseeds. Earlier this year, Statistics Canada projected lentil production to come at about […] Read more


CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans rally as crop conditions drop, soyoil prices rise

Hot weather forecast for heart of Midwest farm belt

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rallied on Tuesday on eroding Midwest crop conditions and improving export demand, and as soyoil prices rose another three per cent amid further gains in crude oil markets. Corn futures also climbed on deteriorating crop conditions across the heart of the farm belt. Wheat ended lower, though spillover […] Read more

Grain storage at a Russian seaport. (Pridannikov/iStock/Getty Images)

Tax, competition expected to prolong Russian wheat export season

Tax complicates forward sales for exporters

Moscow | Reuters — Exports of Russian wheat will stretch well into the second half of the season as Moscow’s export tax and tough competition with Ukraine and Romania slow sales until the end of 2021, traders and analysts said. Russia, the world’s largest exporter of wheat, generally sells most of its crop during the […] Read more


CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat gain in commodities rebound

Biofuel worries cap corn

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Monday in a modest recovery from last week’s two-month low as crude oil markets rebounded and lifted soyoil prices more than three per cent, traders said. Wheat also gained as the U.S. dollar softened and as weekly export inspections topped trade expectations. Corn was flat to […] Read more

This stunted crop is the present on Stephen Vandervalk’s farm — but the southern Alberta farmer worries it’s also the future. That’s because there’s “nothing in the ground” when it comes to soil moisture, he says.

When will it end? If the fall rains don’t come, the hurt will continue

Autumn downpours could turn things around but moisture reserves are greatly depleted

Reading Time: 5 minutes Stephen Vandervalk has seen some tough, dry years on his southern Alberta grain operation since he started farming. But never this dry — and never this tough. “We’re combining the worst crop we’ve ever combined in the history of the farm right now,” the Fort Macleod-area grain farmer said earlier this month. “We’re seeing 10- […] Read more


(JimPattison.com)

Deere lifts 2021 forecast on solid equipment demand

Reuters — Deere and Co. on Friday raised its full-year earnings forecast after quarterly profit topped Wall Street estimates on the back of strong demand for farm and construction equipment. The world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer now expects net income in fiscal 2021 to be between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion, up from a range […] Read more

Sergio Rocha, executive director of a cannabis cultivation research project, works in a greenhouse at Brazil’s Federal University of Vicosa on Aug. 18, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Washington Alves)

Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil

Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market

Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Big jump for durum

U.S. futures, lower loonie supportive for cash wheat bids

MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada for the week ended Thursday were higher for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats, while there were sharp increases for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD). Gains in U.S. wheat markets supported values, as did a steep drop for the Canadian dollar. Average […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn slide on macroeconomic fears, biofuel worries

CBOT, MGEX December wheats also down

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures fell to their lowest in nearly two months on Friday and corn set a near one-month low on macroeconomic concerns along with beneficial rains in the western Midwest and Plains, analysts said. Soyoil futures fell more than five per cent on reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency […] Read more