Cargo ship Despina V, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 2, 2022.  (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Russia says sanctions a barrier to Black Sea grain deal renewal

Reuters — Russia said Monday it would be “inappropriate” to extend the Black Sea grain deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted and other issues are resolved. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, created a safe corridor to allow grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports blockaded […] Read more

CBOT March 2023 soybean meal with 20- and 100-day moving averages (yellow and green lines, right column) and CBOT March 2023 soybeans (blue line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soymeal touches highest since 2014

Spec buying, Argentina weather lifts meal futures; CBOT March corn, wheat, soybeans also up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soymeal futures hit their highest in almost nine years on Monday on speculative buying and uncertainty about crop prospects in Argentina, despite recent rains, analysts said. Surging soymeal values lifted soybean futures, while corn and wheat rose on worries about the future of Ukraine’s safe shipping channel for grain exports. […] Read more


CBOT March 2023 soft red winter wheat with Bollinger bands (20,2), MGEX March 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. March 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat strong on concerns about Ukraine, Russian exports

Chicago corn, soy futures rise

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rallied on Friday, supported by concerns the grain deal allowing for Russian and Ukraine exports from Black Sea ports could splinter amid escalations in the nearly year-long war between the two countries, traders said. Corn and soybean futures also were strong, with corn following the gains in wheat […] Read more

ICE March 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Choppy trading for canola, other oilseeds

Signals not pointing to course change for now

MarketsFarm — Expect canola and other oilseed markets to remain choppy for the time being, according to trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg. “All of the markets are very choppy and erratic. They’re very nervous markets,” Ball emphasized, noting war in Ukraine and drought in Argentina are having some of the biggest impacts […] Read more


A destroyed grain storage building on Yuriy Vovchenko’s farm.

‘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

Close-up of a McDonald’s double Quarter Pounder with bacon. (Corporate.mcdonalds.com)

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


From the best to the worst, it’s the year told in verse

It’s a year-end tradition done with contrition, a light-hearted review for you to go through

Reading Time: 3 minutes As longtime readers know, what we do each year first isReview the one that’s just past, but do it in doggerel (bad verses)A look back to review things is usually a good practice gainfulBut this year it’s one that feels kind of painfulUps and downs for farmers here seem only a piffleCompared to those in […] Read more

File photo of barley being loaded for export at the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv, Ukraine on July 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Vincent Mundy)

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


Ukrainian soldiers capture the moment when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the liberated city of Kherson on Nov. 14.

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

(Laura Rance photo)

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