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 July 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures above $8 on supply concerns

Ukraine war continues disrupting Black Sea grain exports

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures topped US$8 a bushel and reached their highest price in nearly a decade on Monday on concerns over unfavourable U.S. weather slowing plantings and the Ukraine war disrupting grain exports. Traders worry chilly weather hampering plantings this spring could potentially contribute to lower yields come […] Read more


CBOT May 2022 corn (green and red candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and December 2022 corn (orange candlesticks). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn climbs on global supply fears

Wheat down on profit-taking; Argentina trucker strike supports soy, corn

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures hit life-of-contract highs on Thursday, supported by tightening global grain supplies and an uncertain production outlook as the Russia-Ukraine war continued to rattle markets, analysts said. However, trade was choppy and deferred corn contracts finished lower as traders took profits ahead of a three-day holiday weekend. U.S. markets […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20- and 50-day moving averages (yellow and orange lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn nears 10-year high

Wheat, soy up as Ukraine still in focus

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures hit their highest in nearly 10 years on Wednesday and wheat touched a three-week top on worries about tightening global grain supplies, the crisis in Ukraine and drought in the U.S. Plains, analysts said. Soybeans bounced, shaking off signs of slowing demand from top global buyer China, while […] Read more



CBOT May 2022 corn (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, wheat climb on Ukraine woes, U.S. biofuel plan

May soybeans also close higher

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures rose on Tuesday on worries about the Russia-Ukraine conflict persisting and disrupting Black Sea grain exports, and optimism about increased demand for biofuels, analysts said. U.S. President Joe Biden will unveil plans to extend the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline during the summer […] Read more



Grain grower Wade McAllister and agronomy specialist Jeremy Boychyn at a Plot2Farm trial on row spacing conducted at McAllister’s farm last year. In a video shot at the farm, Boychyn discusses the pros and cons of wide versus narrow row spacing, which is an optional parameter in a new seeding rate calculator put out by Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley.

Cereal commissions offer new, and different, seeding rate calculator

The calculator targets seeds per square foot, not plants, while a new video looks at row spacing

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley have created a seeding rate calculator that has a significant difference from similar tools — it doesn’t require users to estimate emergence mortality. “Instead of targeting plants/ft2, this calculator targets seeds/ft2,” the cereal commissions say in an intro for the online tool. “Therefore, emergence mortality is not included in the […] Read more


(Lightspeedshutter/iStock/Getty Images)

Advance Payments Program to offer 100 per cent up front

Feds temporarily waive 60 per cent up-front limit

Canadian farmers seeking pre-production cash advances under the federal Advance Payments Program ahead of this year’s spring seeding will be able to get the entire eligible amount up front. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced a “temporary waiving” of the program’s usual requirement that pre-production cash advances be issued in instalments of 60 […] 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