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

AAFC’s Drought Monitor map at April 30, 2022. (Agriculture.canada.ca)

Drought gone in Manitoba but worsening in Alberta, AAFC reports

MarketsFarm — Record-breaking precipitation in southern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan helped improve moisture conditions in the region in April, taking much of the area out of the drought classification, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for the period ended April 30. Two separate Colorado lows brought significant snow, […] Read more


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

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans ease on expected planting progress

Weather in U.S., India, France adds to Ukraine wheat supply fears

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Monday to five-week lows as warmer U.S. weather expedited planting progress, deflating fears of added soybean acres and further cuts to corn plantings, traders said. Wheat remained underpinned by dry conditions in the U.S. and French growing belts, reinforcing global supply concerns. The most-active Chicago Board […] Read more



CBOT July 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn slide on Midwest weather forecasts

Wheat tumbles after rally, poised for weekly gain

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn and soybean futures slid on Friday as rising interest rates and currency pressures weighed on U.S. exports and forecasts of warm, dry weather opened a window for Midwestern farmers to get their crop planted. Recent rainfall in South America could boost Brazil’s south-central corn crop, which on Friday was […] Read more

(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Seeding already behind in Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — Saskatchewan Agriculture on Thursday issued its first weekly crop report of 2022, showing only one per cent of all crops in the ground. The report cited cool temperatures and spring snowstorms holding back many farmers getting into their fields. The overall five-year average at this time of year is five per cent complete. […] Read more



A washout on Manitoba PR 240, about 60 km north of the U.S. border, on May 2, 2022. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. spring wheat seeding near standstill

MarketsFarm — A succession of weather events has pretty much brought spring planting in North Dakota and Minnesota to a standstill, according to analyst Tom Lilja of Progressive Ag at Fargo, N.D. The weekly crop progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated nationwide planting of spring wheat at 19 per cent complete […] Read more