Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection […] Read more
Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar
Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding
Rapeseed production expected down in EU
USDA attache sees more soy, sunflower
MarketsFarm — Rapeseed production in the European Union (EU) is expected to see a small decrease in the 2023-24 marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) European Union attaché in Vienna. In a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report released Wednesday, the EU’s 2023-24 rapeseed crop is expected to total 19.3 million […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Seeding to start in Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan lentils expected to lose acres to wheat, canola
MarketsFarm — With the calendar turning to May and temperatures expected to surpass 20 C this week, pulse seedings are set to begin for parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. “Right now, we’re still in a bit of a holding pattern,” said Manitoba provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange. “We haven’t really had much for drying. Now […] Read more
U.S. grains: Chicago wheat closes down as global supplies look strong
Market monitoring Plains rain relief, Black Sea grain talks
Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grains and soybean futures closed lower to mixed on Wednesday, as traders eyed sluggish demand and upcoming U.S. export sales data. Wheat fell on news of ample short-term global supplies, despite the risk that an agreement allowing exports from war-torn Ukraine may end next month. Canadian farmers intend to […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. rain, StatCan report biggest influences
Russia's sabre-rattling not yet swaying markets
MarketsFarm — The three to five inches of rain received Wednesday in Kansas and Oklahoma have put pressure on Kansas City and Chicago wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to broker Ryan Ettner of Allendale Inc. Added to that, Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) report on prospective plantings, also received Wednesday, has weighed […] Read more
U.S. grains: Chicago grains flat or down with weather, Black Sea in focus
Large Russian supplies temper fears over Black Sea deal collapse
Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grain futures closed flat or lower on Tuesday, with wheat hitting a 21-month low, as markets were weighed down by a dip in stocks and crude oil and clear forecasts for U.S. planting weather, traders said. Corn closed slightly up as the market weighed increasing export competition from Brazil, […] Read more
World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns
New record highs 'more likely than not'
Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Weather, demand affect grain prices
Wheat 'up and down' on Black Sea uncertainty
MarketsFarm — Severe weather in the U.S. as well as macroeconomic factors at home and abroad affected grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for the week ended Wednesday. Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in Chicago said wet and cool weather across the U.S. Plains, Midwest and corn belt, as well as […] Read more
India’s rapeseed output to be steady
El Nino may be a spoiler
MarketsFarm — Rapeseed production in India has been forecast to remain quite consistent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in New Delhi. The attaché projected rapeseed production for 2023-24 to hold at 11.5 million tonnes, the same in 2022-23. USDA’s official numbers placed India as the world’s No. 4 producer of rapeseed, […] Read more
Prairie soil moisture picture growing clearer
Alberta driest; Saskatchewan variable; Manitoba mostly OK
It’s a variable soil moisture picture on the Prairies as seeding season draws nearer. The east has enough moisture — and in some cases too much. And it gets progressively drier toward the west, with portions of Alberta nearing critical condition, according to one weather watcher. Bruce Burnett, weather and markets director for the MarketsFarm […] Read more