Cargo ships are docked in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Nov. 4, 2016. (File photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Ukraine calls for moves to unblock ports, prevent global food crisis

Russia has mounted a blockade of Ukrainian ports

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s president called on the international community on Monday to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of his country’s ports to allow wheat exports and prevent a global food crisis. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his comments in an online post after speaking to European Council President Charles Michel, who […] Read more

Viktor and Sergiy Shipov say they’ll harvest a crop this year, despite the challenges from the war. (Photo: Ihor Pavliuk/Oleksandr)

Farming behind the lines: Growers in Ukraine plant amid hostilities close by

'We started the sowing campaign by removing rockets from the field'

Viktor and Sergiy Shipov are used to adversity. Viktor established a farming company in southern Ukraine 20 years ago, in the Mykolaiv Oblast, where hellish heat and lack of rainfall can make the land look like the Sahara Desert with yellow dunes. This is a corner of the classic Ukrainian steppe, where rainfall is very […] Read more


Nutrien’s Patience Lake potash facility, about 15 km east of Saskatoon. (Nutrien.com)

Nutrien may further raise potash output as sanctions curb other supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s largest fertilizer company, is weighing further increases to potash production as sanctions continue to limit shipments from Russia and Belarus, interim CEO Ken Seitz said on Tuesday. Prices of crop nutrients such as potash have skyrocketed as sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have disrupted […] Read more




A farm worker unloads Ukrainian-made fertilizer from a truck on April 5, 2022 to use on a wheat field near the village of Yakovlivka, outside Kharkiv, after it was hit by an aerial bombardment. (Photo: Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Farming behind the lines: Ukraine’s farmers sow amidst wreckage

Despite their best efforts, however, famine looms as war rages

In early April, Ukrainian soldiers expelled the Russian invaders from the northern regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions. The wounded enemy left, leaving behind burned-out war machines and the unburied corpses of his soldiers. However, the invaders managed to do a lot of damage. Many of you are probably aware of the atrocities […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 10-, 20- and 50-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans, corn consolidate

CBOT wheat mixed pending sanctions

Reuters — Chicago soybeans and corn eased on Wednesday, consolidating after two days of gains, as traders watch U.S. weather and planting, while wheat traded mixed pending further sanctions against Russia following reports of civilian deaths in Ukraine. The most-active soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) eased 11-1/2 cents to $16.19-1/2 a bushel […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (black line), MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat firmer on U.S. crop conditions’ decline

CBOT corn, soybeans also gain

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat climbed on Tuesday as worse-than-expected U.S. crop conditions added to global supply concerns already heightened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Corn and soybeans were also higher, bolstered as U.S. growers weigh last-minute planting decisions. The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ended 35 cents […] Read more