Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures eased on Tuesday as better-than-expected rain in parts of the Midwest and forecasts for more showers lessened concerns about further yield losses in dry areas of the farm belt. Wheat futures declined as pressure from an advancing U.S. harvest and a firmer U.S. dollar dragged down […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans ease on Midwest rains, trade worries

U.S. grains: Rains fuel crop worries, lift corn, soy, wheat
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures jumped on Thursday as expectations for more rain in the U.S. Midwest heightened worries about bad weather reducing autumn harvests. Forecasts called for rain over the next five days, which would keep some fields too wet to plant and add stress to planted crops that are […] Read more

Trade war and sagging prices push out U.S. farmers
A decade ago, young people were flocking back to the farm — but now they, and their parents, are leaving
A decade ago, young people were flocking back to the farm — but now they, and their parents, are leaving
Reading Time: 5 minutes Shuffling across his frozen fields, farmer Jim Taphorn hunched his shoulders against the wind and squinted at the auctioneer standing next to his tractors. After a fifth harvest with low grain prices, made worse last fall by the U.S.-China trade war, the 68-year-old and his family were calling it quits. Farming also was taking a physical toll […] Read more
North Korea faces food crisis after poor harvest, UN says
Geneva | Reuters — Four in 10 North Koreans are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday. Official rations are down to 300 grams (10.6 ounces) per person per day, the lowest ever for this time […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat futures tumble on increasing global supply estimates
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures slumped on Tuesday with strong crop ratings and increased forecasts for global harvests pushing Chicago Board of Trade wheat to a one-month low. Wheat prices came under pressure after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a weekly report issued late on Monday, rated 60 per cent […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: All eyes on March 1 trade deadline
As high-level trade talks are underway in Beijing this week between the U.S. and China, commodity markets are watching carefully, said an analyst following the Chicago Board of Trade. “All eyes are on March 1,” said Steve Georgy of Allendale Inc. Should negotiators fail to make any progress toward resolving the U.S./China trade war, the […] Read more

Drying grain may become the norm as harvests trend later
Natural air drying with supplemental heat hasn’t caught on in Alberta yet, but it soon could
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta farmers may need to get used to leaving grain in the field at harvest. “Harvest might be starting earlier, but poor weather during the harvest season is slowing down that last little bit of harvest, and there’s more and more crop being left in the field in October,” said Joy Agnew, program manager at […] Read more

U.S. shutdown sends grain traders, farmers hunting for data
Chicago | Reuters — When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of key farm reports would not be released on Friday due to the partial government shutdown, the phones at crop forecaster Gro Intelligence blew up. The USDA was set to release its views on the projected size of U.S. soybean stockpiles, among […] Read more

December StatsCan report could vary from years past
CNS Canada — After this fall’s long, drawn-out harvest, some analysts predict Statistics Canada’s final Production of Principal Field Crops numbers could vary from the usual pattern. StatsCan’s report, due out Thursday, is a “very uncertain” report “because that was probably one of the most bizarre falls we’ve ever had on the Prairies,” said Ken […] Read more

Canary seed market seen as dull, static
CNS Canada — Prices for canary seed over the last 15 months have fluctuated between 20 and 23 cents/lb. delivered in Western Canada, and there’s little chance that will change any time soon. To David Nobbs, managing partner of Canpulse Foods in Saskatoon and a director with the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, the canary […] Read more