MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were boosted by last Thursday’s bullish supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but attention has since shifted back to South American growing conditions. “The primary thing right now is South American weather,” said market analyst Tom Lilja of Progressive Ag at […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn markets’ eyes on South America
Wheat market remains sensitive to Ukraine news

U.S. grains: Corn, soy up off early declines on export data
Chicago wheat follows suit
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn and soybean futures rallied to multi-month highs on Tuesday as signs of export demand and follow-through support from last week’s bullish U.S. government supply/demand reports overshadowed early pressure from wetter South American weather forecasts, traders said. Wheat followed the higher trend. CBOT March corn settled […] Read more

‘Everything was destroyed:’ One farmer’s tale of the Russia invasion
His farm and village are in ruins, but Yuriy Vovchenko’s focus is on somehow planting a crop next spring
Reading Time: 5 minutes EDITOR’S NOTE: this story contains graphic content. Glacier FarmMedia – Ukrainian farmer Yuriy Vovchenko survived the Russian occupation and constant shelling for eight months, but his life has changed immeasurably. I have known him for many years, and since the invasion I have wanted to phone him many times but each time I dialled, I […] Read more

McDonald’s reported set to exit Kazakhstan on Russia war spillover
Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. is set to abandon Kazakhstan as disruptions triggered by the Ukraine crisis have left the nation without a substitute for Russian meat supplies, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The fast-food giant, which exited Russia in May, banned its local franchisee from procuring meat patties from Russian […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm as investors track Argentine weather
Wheat, corn drift lower after multi-week highs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures rose on Thursday, after rallying earlier in the day to the highest price since June, as investors tracked forecasts for much-needed rain across Argentine crops and China’s dropping of strict COVID-19 measures. But the price rally was capped by investors looking to capture profits and adjust their positions […] Read more

Ship insurers to cancel war cover for Russia, Ukraine from Jan. 1
London | Reuters — Ship insurers said they are cancelling war risk cover across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, following an exit from the region by reinsurers in the face of steep losses. Reinsurers, who insure the insurers, typically renew their 12-month contracts with insurance clients on Jan. 1, giving them the first opportunity to scale […] Read more

Report from Ukraine: Watermelons and raccoons — there’s still laughter amidst the tears
The people of Ukraine are coping with adversity any way they can as winter’s grip deepens
Reading Time: 4 minutes I can imagine how Canadians feel when they watch news from Ukraine. Not long ago, we in Ukraine watched reports from Iraq and Syria, and it seemed to us like a broadcast from another planet — a planet of cruelty and destruction. Now we live on this planet. To maintain a healthy mind, we have […] Read more

Corteva cuts U.S. jobs while exiting Russia
California plant produces seed for sunflower growers
Chicago | Reuters — Seeds and pesticides company Corteva will eliminate U.S. jobs next year, as its exit from Russia reduces demand for its commercial sunflower seeds produced in California, the company said on Monday. Corteva will cut 51 positions from a Woodland, California facility, run by its Pioneer Hi-Bred International subsidiary, that supplied Europe […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat futures fall on fund selling
Soybean futures rise
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and wheat futures dipped on Friday, with concerns about a weakening global economy deterring traders from extending gains made earlier this week. “Fund managers continue to interpret their supply and demand fundamentals through a lens coloured by recession fears,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at brokerage StoneX, said in […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn up on Black Sea export concerns
Chicago January soy falls
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures rallied on Monday after a weekend attack that temporarily shut down key port for Ukrainian exports raised concerns about disruptions to grain shipments, traders said. Soybean futures dropped following rains in Argentina that alleviated concerns about crop shortfalls from that key export country. News that the […] Read more