Rod Nickel

Canadian fertilizer and ag retail company Agrium reported a record profit for its fourth quarter on Thursday, handily beating expectations due to higher demand for crop protection products and fertilizer from farmers, ahead of a proxy battle with its largest shareholder. Agrium shares in New York edged up 0.5 per cent following the news, after […] Read more

U.S. grain prices inched higher on Friday in a modest recovery, driven by improving export prospects due to weaker prices, and corn snapped its longest losing skid in 5-1/2 years. Chicago corn, wheat and soybeans still posted weekly losses, as welcome precipitation was headed for the U.S. Plains hard red winter wheat region and parts […] Read more

Canadian wheat exports might be heading toward the biggest volume in six years following a bountiful harvest in Canada and sharply lower output from rival shipper Australia. A projected 26 per cent decline in wheat production in Australia, the world’s second-biggest wheat exporter last year, ahead of Russia and Canada, will give Canadian supplies a […] Read more

Corn prices fell for a ninth straight session on Wednesday as South American weather improved, but bargain buyers lifted wheat off a seven-month low and took soybeans from a one-month bottom. Trade was choppy as weather conditions continued to boost prospects for U.S. wheat and South American corn and soybeans, pushing all three to recent […] Read more

Chicago wheat prices fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday after much-needed precipitation provided some moisture to the drought-stricken winter-wheat growing area of the United States. Corn also slipped, extending its losing streak to the longest since mid-2007, on a potential rebound in world grain supply this year, while soybeans dipped. Snow and rain showers […] Read more

Canpotex Ltd., the offshore selling agency for leading North American potash miners, has signed a new potash supply contract with Indian buyers at a smaller than expected discount. The deal to supply India with the crop nutrient for the remainder of 2013 ends a long standoff by Indian buyers that dented profits for producers such […] Read more

PotashCorp of Saskatchewan forecast a modest rebound in earnings for 2013, with key importers in China and eventually India resuming purchases of the crop nutrient potash, but the company’s recovery will be more gradual than expected. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company, reported a surprisingly large drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and gave a […] Read more

Grain sales and movement across Western Canada have gone smoothly in the first year after the region’s grain-marketing monopoly ended, Cargill Ltd. president Len Penner said Wednesday. The Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly expired on Aug. 1, allowing farmers to sell their grain to any buyer for the first time in 69 years. Cargill, the third-largest […] Read more