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U.S. Senate Democrats roll out draft bill to legalize weed

Reuters — Three top U.S. Democratic senators on Wednesday unveiled a discussion draft of a bill that aims to legalize cannabis, a move that would allow adult Americans to buy and possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana without facing criminal penalties. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act floated by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans up on weather worries

MGEX, CBOT September wheats also gain

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures hit their highest in nearly two weeks on Wednesday as forecasts called for dry weather in the Midwest crop belt next week and continued dryness in the northern Plains, threatening crop prospects, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled up 18 cents at $5.58-3/4 […] Read more


Faba Canada acquires Alberta processing facility

Faba Canada acquires Alberta processing facility

Company to produce protein concentrate, aims to spark faba acreage boom

Reading Time: < 1 minute The owner of Faba Canada has acquired a former field pea-processing plant at Legal and will open Alberta’s first fababean fractionation facility. The plant will allow his company, based in Melfort, Sask. to demonstrate it can successfully produce high-protein concentrate, company president Brad Goudy told Saskatchewan radio station CJVR. Goudy has been a longtime promoter […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 corn (candlesticks) with CBOT September 2021 wheat and corn (green and yellow lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn up on supply worries

Soy futures follow veg oils higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Tuesday on concerns about tightening grain supplies while soybean futures advanced on strong global vegetable oil markets, analysts said. Wheat futures turned lower on profit-taking after rallying on supply concerns a day earlier. Chicago Board of Trade September corn futures settled up six cents at $5.51-1/4 […] Read more


Fractionation is a process that separates a pulse, grain or oilseed into protein, starch and fibre. But there are also steps before and after that process that are often done by contract, or toll, processors. This slide shows some of the steps before fractionation can occur. It was part of a presentation by anCeres Processing Solutions for a series of ‘Fractionation 101’ workshops put on by the Plant Protein Alliance of Alberta prior to the pandemic.

Study finds major gap in Alberta’s valued-added strategy

A supporting cast of contract processors key to developing plant protein-processing sector

Reading Time: 3 minutes A lack of fractionation plants isn’t the only thing holding back development of a plant protein-processing sector in Alberta. Like fractionation, the province is falling behind on toll processors, companies that provide specialty processing and manufacturing for other companies. “We need all that toll processing in Alberta in order to get the secondary and tertiary […] Read more

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USDA pegs wheat ending stocks to be lowest since 2013-14

MarketsFarm — As the U.S. northern Plains continue to deal with severe drought conditions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has significantly lowered its 2021-22 ending stocks estimates for wheat — especially durum and spring wheat. According to USDA’s monthly world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) released Monday, 2021-22 ending stocks for wheat are […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Wheat futures rally after U.S. slashes harvest estimates

Agency raises U.S. corn crop forecast from June

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures climbed on Monday on lower-than-expected production estimates for domestic crops damaged by searing weather and drought, analysts said. Corn and soybean futures also jumped. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a monthly report, slashed its harvest outlook for spring wheat other than durum by 41 per cent from […] Read more

An undated photo from CN’s media gallery shows a locomotive travelling through the Ashcroft, B.C. area. (CN.ca)

CN, CP trains ordered to slow down against fire risk

Ministerial order in effect until Oct. 31

A new federal ministerial order calls for Canada’s big two railways to significantly cut their train speeds in any areas deemed to be at an “extreme” fire risk. “With extreme weather events occurring more severely and frequently in Canada due to climate change, it is important to have an adaptive regulatory system that responds to […] Read more


A 3-D illustration of Bacillus anthracis bacteria. (Dr_Microbe/iStock/Getty Images)

Anthrax kills southeastern Saskatchewan sheep

Spores forced up by changes in soil moisture

Dramatic shifts in soil moisture are again bringing anthrax spores to the surface on the Prairies, this time in a southeastern Saskatchewan sheep pasture. Lab results on Wednesday confirmed anthrax as the cause of death of one animal in a flock of sheep in the R.M. of South Qu’Appelle, about 50 km east of Regina, […] Read more