File photo of wheat south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairies’ high-pressure ridge should give way by mid-month

Brisk harvest pace expected meanwhile

MarketsFarm — While there’s not one specific cause of the hot September the Canadian Prairies has generally been having so far, Weatherlogics chief scientist Scott Kehler notes one particular shorter-term factor. “There is a fairly strong upper-level ridge of high pressure across the Prairies right now,” he explained, adding it should dissipate by mid-month. The […] Read more

CBOT November 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybean futures fall 1.5 per cent

CBOT corn, wheat firm

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell 1.5 per cent on Tuesday as Argentina’s decision to offer farmers a better exchange rate for their crops threatened to raise export competition at a time when U.S. offerings typically dominate the market. “It just makes more product readily available short-term,” said Mark Schultz, chief analyst at […] Read more



A sunflower crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba’s sunflower crop smaller, better

Global supply, demand outlooks remain uncertain

MarketsFarm — If Canada’s 2022 sunflower seed harvest is to be the lowest in five years, you wouldn’t know it talking to producers of the crop. In its July satellite image-based principal field crops estimates released Monday, Statistics Canada projected sunflower seed production for the 2022-23 marketing year at 61,996 tonnes, 24.2 per cent lower […] Read more


CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn down on recession fears, profit-taking

Corn falls off two-month top; soy, wheat also down

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures fell on Tuesday, joining broad declines in commodities and equity markets as traders fretted about the health of the global economy. Profit-taking also weighed on corn futures, a day after the benchmark December contract notched a two-month high linked to declining U.S. crop production prospects. […] Read more

CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn hits two-month high on heat, dryness concerns

Soybeans ease as crop tour sees large U.S. harvest

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures set a two-month high on Monday after a U.S. crop tour last week found damage from hot, dry weather and organizers projected harvests would fall short of government estimates. Wheat futures rallied to their highest level in about seven weeks, while soybeans fell after the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Canadian crop production bounces back, StatCan reports

Wheat at higher end of trade projections

MarketsFarm — After 2021’s historic drought on the Prairies caused crop production to fall to historic lows, the 2022 harvest has mostly bounced back to pre-drought levels, according to Statistics Canada. StatCan on Monday released its July 2022 satellite image-based principal field crop production estimates, which confirmed analysts’ expectations that this year’s crop production would […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Greater crop production estimated prior to StatCan report

Extended time lag between survey, data's release criticized

MarketsFarm — Analysts are expecting Canadian crop production totals for the 2022-23 marketing year to be substantially higher compared to drought-stricken 2021-22, but still not enough to fully replenish supplies. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will publish its first satellite image model-based yield and production estimates for principal field crops on Monday. Traders and analysts are interested […] Read more


CBOT November 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat, corn fall as traders book profits

Dispatches from crop tour limit day's losses

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybeans, wheat and corn futures fell on Thursday on a profit-taking setback after rallying earlier in the week, traders said. “We are just running into a bit of technical resistance across the board,” said Dan O’Bryan, a risk management specialist and broker at Top Third StoneX. “You […] Read more

CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn firms for sixth session in a row

Soybeans weak, wheat strong

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures steadied after hitting their highest in nearly two months on Wednesday, underpinned by concerns that hot and dry weather in the Midwest during key crop development periods limited how big the fall harvest will be, traders said. Wheat futures were strong, notching their fourth straight day of gains, […] Read more