(Sakakawea7/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump trade-war aid sows frustration in farm country

Rochester, Minnesota | Reuters — The U.S. government is paying Texas cotton farmer J. Walt Hagood US$145 an acre for losses related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies. But Minnesota soybean farmer Betsy Jensen will get just US$35 an acre. Both farmers’ sales have taken heavy blows in Trump’s trade war with China. Neither […] Read more



The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Expected U.S. soybean, corn yields down

MarketsFarm –– The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) September supply and demand report saw downward revisions for corn and soybeans, but kept its estimates for wheat where they were in August. The department on Thursday released its new world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE). “Prices rallied after the report came out because of the […] Read more

A corn crop west of Grunthal, Man. on Aug. 17, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan forecasts near-record corn crop

MarketsFarm — Canada’s corn crop is forecast to be the second largest on record despite a delayed start to spring planting, as yields showed an improvement from earlier forecasts, according to updated production estimates Thursday from Statistics Canada. Using a combination of satellite imagery, previous survey data, and agro-climatic data, the latest Statistics Canada report […] Read more


CBOT November 2019 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn ease on crop-boosting weather

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures retreated on Wednesday ahead of an eagerly awaited U.S. government crop report, pressured by forecasts for favourable Midwest crop weather and disappointment that China did not include the oilseed on a list of U.S. imports exempted from tariffs. Corn also weakened as late-planted U.S. crops were seen benefiting […] Read more

Barry Senft, shown here at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show in a 2017 GFO video, is stepping down in April as the organization’s chief executive. (GFO video screengrab via YouTube)

Grain Farmers of Ontario seeking new CEO

Ontario’s biggest ag commodity organization is on the hunt for a new CEO as its first chief prepares to exit. Barry Senft announced Tuesday he will step down as CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario in April 2020, a post he’s held since the 2009 merger of the province’s corn, soy and wheat grower groups […] Read more


CBOT December 2019 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn hits contract lows on sluggish exports, mild weather

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday, pressured by disappointing weekly U.S. export data and forecasts for benign weather in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, analysts said. Soybeans turned down, retreating from early advances, and wheat followed the lower trend. Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled […] Read more

CBOT November 2019 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans sag on demand worries

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell more than one per cent on Thursday on concerns about burdensome supplies and weak export demand as the U.S. trade war with China continues, analysts said. Wheat futures rose on short-covering and worries about drought in Australia, and corn edged higher, despite bearish weekly U.S. ethanol statistics. […] Read more



CBOT December 2019 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn extends slide on crop prospects

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago corn futures fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, setting life-of-contract lows as improving crop ratings and benign weather forecasts raised confidence in U.S. harvest prospects, traders said. Wheat rose, with benchmark Chicago wheat rebounding from a three-month low set a day earlier and K.C. and Minneapolis hard wheat […] Read more