Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Rain needed across U.S. Midwest

MarketsFarm — Dry conditions across the U.S. Midwest were among the factors that could affect commodity prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) if rain doesn’t come soon, according to Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodities at Barrington, Ill. Dry conditions in the region could lead to price increases for corn and soybeans. “Across northern […] Read more



(Qingwa/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA’s July WASDE has little effect on markets

U.S. Midwest weather likely having greater effect

MarketsFarm — There were some notable changes in the carryovers for corn, soybeans and wheat in the July supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Friday. However, the monthly world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) had very little effect on the markets, according to MarketsFarm analyst Mike Jubinville. “I think […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat hits eight-month low as harvest advances

Soybeans gain on trade optimism; ethanol report supports corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures edged downward on Wednesday reaching an eight-month low as the U.S. harvest continues and rainfall across Europe allayed recent weather worries. Corn prices climbed after early losses, ending in positive territory on increased ethanol use, but capped by pressure from favourable weather across the U.S. Midwest, while soybeans […] Read more


File photo of a chickpea crop in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Unseasonal rain, hail damage winter crops in India

Crop quality issues may pressure prices

New Delhi | Reuters — Unseasonal torrential rains and hailstorms have damaged the winter-planted crops of millions of Indian growers, inundating wheat, potato, chickpea and rapeseed farms in large parts of the fertile northern plains, farmers said. Most farmers were caught by surprise by the repeated rain and hail that has lashed fields full of […] Read more

Forecaster Drew Lerner, shown here at Ag Days 2020 in Brandon, sees a cooler-than-normal spring ahead for the Prairies. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead

If nothing else, a rainy harvest season helped replenish topsoil moisture

MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If we take a look at […] Read more


The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

Most oilseed estimates down in USDA’s October outlook

MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly oil crops outlook on Tuesday featuring reductions in global rapeseed and sunflower production and U.S. soybeans. USDA estimated global rapeseed production at 68.6 million tonnes, a decline of one million, with the lion’s share of the losses in Canada. Canadian production for 2019-20 was […] Read more

At Hebert Grain Ventures, data from field operations -- as well as from employees, financial statements and a host of other sources -- is analyzed and used to find new ways to improve efficiency.

How one farm put data analytics to work

Saskatchewan grain farm makes money by assessing data on everything from employees to soil moisture

Reading Time: 6 minutes Most people say, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” But at Hebert Grain Ventures, their motto is, “If it’s not broke, you haven’t looked hard enough.” “We don’t believe that, just because we had a good year or a good yield, that’s enough,” said Evan Shout, the Saskatchewan farm’s chief financial officer. “If we […] Read more