CBOT September 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (black line) and MGEX and K.C. September 2021 wheats (green and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat climbs as drought persists

Soybeans ease on pressure from broader commodity markets

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures gained on Monday, climbing to a 2-1/2- month high, supported by dry weather in parts of U.S., Canadian and Russian growing areas that raises global supply worries. Soybeans eased after last week’s gains, pressured by broader losses in outside markets, though weather uncertainty underpins the oilseed. Chicago Board […] Read more

Better bin monitoring data is key to better drying and that, in turn, could allow Prairie farmers to start harvest a week or two earlier, says Chandra Singh, an expert in wireless sensor technology for grain bins.

Better grain bin sensors could put you in the combine a week earlier

The key to an earlier start is being able to successfully dry down higher-moisture grain, says expert

Reading Time: 4 minutes To some, new research on wireless sensors and automated fans for grain bins may seem like just another technical study. But there’s big stakes in play — an opportunity to move up harvest by a week or even two, says Chandra Singh. “When I joined Lethbridge College in 2019 there was a very early snow […] Read more


Photo of a Nestle facility. (Nestle via Flickr)

Nestle to shut Ontario foodservice processing plant

Trenton facility to close in mid-2022

Global food processing giant Nestle plans to shut a southeastern Ontario plant and move its work to sites in the U.S., citing a “highly competitive” market. The company announced Thursday it will start to wind down work late this year at the Nestle Professional plant at Trenton, where dehydrated dry-blend and frozen products are made […] Read more

Screenshot of Parrish and Heimbecker’s Quill Lake, Sask. elevator. (ParrishAndHeimbecker.com)

Rail upgrades planned for P+H elevator

Eastern Saskatchewan elevator's rail spot expanding

Winnipeg grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker plans to boost throughput at one of its eastern Saskatchewan elevators with upgrades to its rail car loading systems. Privately-held P+H said Thursday it plans to expand to a 100-car spot, up from 50, at its elevator at Quill Lake, Sask., about 60 km east of Humboldt. Work on […] Read more


CBOT September 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with  20-day moving average (yellow line) and MGEX and K.C. September wheats (green and orange O/H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat posts biggest weekly climb in six years

Weather woes in North America, Russia, Europe spur concerns

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rose about three per cent on Friday and recorded their largest weekly gain in six years as parched conditions for North American spring wheat and adverse weather in Europe and Russia stoked concern about global supplies. Soybean futures ended higher on uncertainty about U.S. crop weather, while corn […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids up with strong gains in U.S. markets

MarketsFarm — Bids spiked for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS), Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR), and durum (CWAD) wheats in Western Canada for the week ended Thursday. Steep increases in U.S. wheat futures supported values, as did a lower Canadian dollar which lost more than a half cent. Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. appeals court rules for environmental groups in biofuel case

New York | Reuters — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Friday in favour of environmental groups who argued against the U.S. government’s conclusion that biofuel blending obligations posed no danger to species’ habitats. The Environmental Protection Agency decides on the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Feed weekly outlook: Heat reducing potential yields, raising prices

MarketsFarm — The hot and dry summer that has enveloped all of Western Canada is already bringing down projected yields for feed grains, creating an inverse effect on prices. “We’re losing the crop here right now with the heat and lack of moisture across the Prairies and the northern Plains of the United States,” said […] Read more


MGEX September 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines) and CBOT September 2021 wheat (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat climbs on stressful northern Plains weather

Chicago soybean futures sag

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Thursday, led by Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) spring wheat futures, which hit an 8-1/2-year high near US$9 a bushel as drought threatened crops in the northern Plains and Canadian Prairies. Soybean futures fell on disappointing domestic soy crush data and corn eased after a three-session climb. […] Read more

Charred remnants of a rail bridge destroyed by a wildfire on June 30 are seen during a media tour by authorities in Lytton, B.C. on July 9, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Lytton bridge re-opened but grain movement ‘hit and miss’

B.C. wildfires continue to disrupt Prairie grain movement

Canadian National Railway’s fire-damaged bridge at Lytton, B.C. reopened for traffic Tuesday — but all train movement, including for grain, through British Columbia’s wildfire-ravaged southern Interior, is “hit and miss” and will remain so until the fire risk lessens. “Both (CN and Canadian Pacific Railway) are having troubles because there are so many fires in […] Read more