Chicago | Reuters — Favourable rains in the U.S. Farm Belt combined with approaching harvests to push down Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures on Monday, analysts said. Traders, meanwhile, assessed disruptions to U.S. crop exports from Hurricane Ida at a time when global supplies are tight and demand from China is strong. […] Read more

U.S. grains: Prices down on rains, Ida shuts grain facilities
Iowa, Minnesota crops benefit from rain; Cargill says Ida damaged Louisiana terminal

Cargill, Continental Grain to buy chicken producer Sanderson Farms for $4.5 bln
Reuters – Commodities trader Cargill Inc and agricultural investor Continental Grain Co will buy chicken producer Sanderson Farms Inc for $4.53 billion, the companies said on Monday, at a time when meat prices have been soaring due to strong demand. The deal would see Sanderson Farms, the third-largest poultry producer in the United States, join […] Read more

Air ambulance plan gets a boost
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cargill is giving $400,000 to STARS, the not-for-profit air ambulance organization. The organization is seeking to buy nine new, medically equipped Airbus H145 helicopters, at a cost of $13 million each, for use in Western Canada. STARS has been flying missions in the new H145 aircraft from two of its bases since mid-2019, thanks to […] Read more

Will there be any canola left in bins come fall?
'Stocks are setting up to be the smallest in years'
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s been a time that canola growers won’t soon forget, says a provincial crop analyst. “Producers with unpriced canola remaining after the 2020 harvest have been delighted and amazed by the price increase since harvest,” Neil Blue said in a recent Agri-News article. “New record canola prices have been set for both futures and cash.” […] Read more

Rail shippers pick sides as CP, CN bid for Kansas City Southern
Richardson, Conagra among firms supporting both bids
Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s freight rail customers, from grain shippers to logistics companies, are choosing sides as Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway fight to buy Kansas City Southern. A takeout of KCS would be the first major North American railroad combination in more than 20 years and create the first network […] Read more

Viterra plans major canola crusher for Regina
Expected capacity would make facility largest in world
Grain handler and processor Viterra is taking its plans to build the world’s biggest canola crusher to its Prairie home town. The North American arm of Rotterdam-based Viterra said Monday it’s in the “feasibility” stage of designing and finalizing plans for what it bills as the “world’s largest integrated canola crush facility” in the northeast […] Read more

Cargill to crush canola at Regina
New plant to process up to one million tonnes per year
The Canadian arm of agrifood giant Cargill plans to further expand its reach in the Prairie canola market with a new crush plant at Regina and upgrades elsewhere. The company announced Thursday it would start construction on the $350 million plant “early next year” and expects to have it operating by early 2024, employing about […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit-down on profit-taking
Cattle futures continue lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures sank by their daily exchange-imposed trading limit on Thursday as profit-taking overwhelmed the market following blistering rallies, analysts said. The setback is a turnaround from gains that have lifted profits for pig farmers after they struggled last year when the COVID-19 pandemic reduced restaurants’ demand for meat […] Read more

Cargill shuts Ontario chicken plant against COVID
Other packers being sought to take birds
Agrifood firm Cargill is seeking slaughter space for Ontario chickens at other processors after temporarily closing its London poultry packing plant Tuesday against an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers. The company said Tuesday it was “taking this step out of an abundance of caution as our local workforce deals with the community-wide impacts of COVID-19.” […] Read more

Cargill buying further into Saskatchewan ag retail
Company to take up other half of Precision Ag
Cargill plans to expand its crop retail reach further into southeastern Saskatchewan by buying up the remaining half of one of its joint ventures in the region. The Canadian arm of the U.S. agrifood firm said Thursday it will buy up crop input retailer Precision Ag for an undisclosed sum, taking up the 50 per […] Read more