File photo of a rye field in Kazakhstan. (Stsmhn/iStock/Getty Images)

Kazakhstan’s president orders ban on foreign ownership of farmland

Almaty | Reuters — Kazakhstan will permanently ban foreigners from owning or renting farmland in the vast central Asian nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Thursday, ending a lengthy dispute that once prompted anti-government protests. Kazakhstan is a major producer of grains, oilseeds and meat in the former Soviet region sandwiched between China and Russia […] Read more

CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures limit-up to highest since May 2019

Cattle futures bounce on bargain buying

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Wednesday, hitting their highest in nearly two years on tight frozen stocks and expectations for strong Chinese demand, traders said. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s cold storage report issued on Tuesday afternoon fueled buying on Wednesday. “Belly and trim stocks are at four-year […] Read more


CME April 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures fall as supplies seen rising

April lean hogs up from Friday

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday, pressured by expectations of rising supplies as improving weather conditions in the southern U.S. Plains will allow meat processors to increase their slaughter, traders said. A deep freeze last week across Texas and the southern U.S. Plains caused power failures that shut down meat […] Read more

An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

High fertilizer prices likely to climb more

MarketsFarm — Expect fertilizer prices to resume increasing, despite having fallen back recently. Prices began their sharp rise around the middle of December and beginning of January. “They will go higher as demand goes up at seeding time,” Mike Jubinville of MarketsFarm Pro in Winnipeg said. Jubinville reported urea prices have jumped $100 per tonne […] Read more


A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley demand pressures domestic supply

MarketsFarm — Increasing demand for feed barley has created a strong but extremely tightened market for the crop and it may potentially buck seeding predictions for 2021-22. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in Winnipeg, said rising demand from China is also raising prices for feed barley, urging growers to […] Read more




ICE May 2021 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Volatility day-to-day in bullish canola market

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market saw some large price moves during the week ended Wednesday, hitting fresh contract highs in many months before profit-taking came forward to weigh on values. With canola trading at historically high price levels, the potential volatility in the marketplace can go to extreme levels without much explanation, analyst […] Read more


File photo of a barley field in Argentina. (Juan Pablo Marchelletti/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentine truckers end strike, freeing China-bound barley

Canada, France would have been buyers' Plan B

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine truckers ended a 20-day strike that had blocked access to ports in Buenos Aires province, agricultural industry sources said on Tuesday, following a deal struck with local officials to increase freight-hauling rates. Trucks owners grouped in the informal TUDA association (Transportistas Unidos de Argentina) began blocking highways last month, […] Read more