Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to their lowest level in more than five weeks on Tuesday as technical selling and concerns about the U.S. economy weighed on prices, analysts said. Economic worries increased after the failure over the weekend of First Republic Bank. Wall Street stock indexes sagged ahead […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit five-week low
Technical selling, economic worries add pressure; June hogs up

Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide
FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable
Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago soy closes lower
Brazil production, Fed in focus for soy; wheat, corn still capped by Black Sea deal extension
Reuters — Chicago soy futures reversed gains to close lower on Tuesday, pushed down by rising estimates of Brazilian production, while corn and wheat dipped as markets kept a cautious eye on an expected Federal Reserve rate hike. Wheat and corn continue to be capped by the extension of a Black Sea export corridor from […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn rally from multi-month lows
Ukraine corridor talks eyed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures rose on Tuesday, rebounding from multi-month lows set last week, as Wall Street equity markets turned higher and signs of fresh grain export demand emerged, analysts said. Uncertainty about talks to extend a wartime grain export corridor from Ukraine lent support. Soybean futures posted smaller advances […] Read more

Farmland values exceed expectations
Ontario leads the country with 19.4 per cent increase
Average farmland prices were up 12.8 per cent in Canada in 2022, the largest increase seen since 2014 when the increase was 14.3 per cent. The increase follows gains of 8.3 per cent in 2021 and 5.4 per cent in 2020. J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist, said the numbers were a little bit of a […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: U.S. futures drag down wheat bids
Potential for more interest rate hikes remains
MarketsFarm — Hawkish comments from the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the possible renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative brought down wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for the week ended Thursday — and, in turn, pressured western Canadian wheat bids. In front of the U.S. Senate banking committee […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat nears one-month low on Black Sea competition
Chicago soybeans, corn also lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to their lowest in nearly a month on Wednesday as an Egyptian purchase tender highlighted export competition from the Black Sea region, tempering worries about war disruption to Ukrainian supplies, analysts said. Soybean futures fell on profit-taking and expectations of increasing soy export competition from Brazil, where […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Wide array of factors affecting grain prices
Corn, soy see speculative profit-taking
MarketsFarm — Recent rains in parts of South America, as well as a correction in the markets, have paused rallies in corn and soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to one trader. Jack Scoville, vice-president of The Price Futures Group in Chicago, said that while central and southern Argentina are still mired […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Weather outweighs U.S. Fed rate hike announcement
'People are returning to the Argentine situation'
MarketsFarm — Week-long rallies for grain futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were disrupted by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest key interest rate announcement on Wednesday. The Fed revealed it is raising its key interest rate by 25 basis points in its ongoing fight against inflation. While the central bank acknowledged inflation is […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy sags as Brazil’s harvest looms
Wheat mixed, corn ends firm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell about one per cent on Wednesday as traders focused on the expanding harvest of a likely record-large soy crop in Brazil and positioned for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, analysts said. Wheat futures ended mixed, with the most-active March contract down on profit-taking, while […] Read more