A flooded field north of Winnipeg at St. Andrews, Man., on March 29, 2017.  (Greg Berg photo)

Flood concerns ease across Prairies outside southern Manitoba

MarketsFarm — A slower-than-normal spring melt has helped to alleviate most flood concerns across the Prairies, except in southern Manitoba. That part of Manitoba, especially the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg, isn’t out of the woods just yet. Flooding may still reach levels on par with high water levels reached in 2009, according to […] Read more

CBOT May 2019 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Trade hopes spur gains in soy futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed for the third time in four sessions on Thursday, supported by a better-than-expected export report and hopes for a trade deal with China, traders said. Corn futures also closed in positive territory, with more rain in the U.S. Midwest sparking fresh concerns about planting delays in key […] Read more

Canada Malting’s processing plant in Montreal. (CanadaMalting.com)

Canada Malting to join GrainCorp’s global malting spinoff

The Australian owner of Canada’s biggest malt company plans to spin it off, along with its other worldwide malting assets, into a new stand-alone malt industry player. Sydney-based GrainCorp announced Thursday it plans to “demerge” its global malting business from its grains and edible oils business, forming two separate ASX-listed companies: MaltCo and “New GrainCorp.” […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Rising diesel prices coming

MarketsFarm — Higher diesel prices are on the horizon for Canada and the U.S. in 2019. GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Dan McTeague pointed to an increase in overall demand, combined with a slowdown in heavy oil production and the federal carbon tax as well as pending IMO 2020 regulations — that is, the International Marine […] Read more


MGEX May 2019 spring wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands, a gauge of market volatility. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Improving weather view weighs on wheat

Chicago | Reuters — MGEX spring wheat futures plunged two per cent on Tuesday to their lowest levels since July 2018 on easing concerns about the weather in key U.S. growing areas and weakening cash prices, traders said. K.C. hard red winter wheat futures also were weak, with a better-than-expected government report on crop conditions […] Read more

(Dow.com)

DowDuPont completes spinoff of materials science unit

Reuters — DowDuPont said Monday it had completed the spinoff of its materials science division as part of a plan to split the chemical producer into three separate units. Shares of the new division, Dow, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Dow and Dupont completed a US$130 billion merger in […] Read more

CBOT May 2019 corn futures with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn bounces from sharp sell-off

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures rose on Monday, rebounding from Friday’s sell-off spurred by a government report that showed massive supplies of all three commodities remained in storage bins around the country. Corn notched the biggest gain, with the most active Chicago Board of Trade contract rallying 1.8 per cent […] Read more


(Photo courtesy BASF SE)

BASF Ag Solutions to move Canadian head office west

The Canadian arm of BASF Agricultural Solutions plans to relocate its head office to Calgary from Mississauga effective Oct. 1. The crop protection arm of the German chemical company said Wednesday it wants to move the Canadian head office “closer to customers” after closing its deals last year to buy a “range of businesses and […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn posts steepest drop in nearly three years on USDA reports

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn futures tumbled more than four per cent on Friday in the market’s steepest drop in nearly three years after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated U.S. stocks and projected spring plantings above nearly all trade estimates. Soybeans and wheat followed corn lower despite USDA’s lower-than-expected soy and spring […] Read more