(Viorika/E+/Getty Images)

Thunder Bay reports rare inbound grain shipment

MarketsFarm — Grain movement at the Port of Thunder Bay included a rare inbound cargo of feed wheat, according to the port’s latest monthly report. A 12,000-tonne shipment of feed wheat was delivered to Richardson’s Current River elevator from the company’s facility in Hamilton, Ont. The wheat was said to be destined for Manitoba feedlots, […] Read more

Grain is loaded onto ships for export at a port on the Parana River near Rosario, Argentina on Jan. 31, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci)

Argentina forms agency to manage cargo river, grain exporters worry

Added bureaucracy in grain shipping feared

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina said on Wednesday it had formed a new government agency to manage dredging operations needed to ensure navigation of the Parana River, which carries about 80 per cent of the country’s grains exports from the Pampas farm belt out to sea. For decades, cargo ships have paid tolls directly […] Read more

File photo of wheat being loaded onto a bulk vessel at port in Russia. (YGrek/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia’s agriculture ministry pauses grain harvesting data

Moscow | Reuters — Russia’s agriculture ministry has paused its daily publication of grain harvesting data while it refines the reporting format used by the country’s growing regions, the ministry said Wednesday. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, supplying it mainly to Africa and the Middle East. It competes with the European Union and […] Read more

The Andersons Grain Group’s Toledo-area elevator at Maumee, Ohio. (AndersonsGrain.com)

The Andersons to pay debt, invest in core units after rail business sale

Renewable fuels, specialty foods investments considered

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain handler The Andersons plans to use US$550 million from the sale of its rail leasing business to pay down debt and invest in sustainable farming and low carbon initiatives in its core grain and fertilizer units, CEO Pat Bowe told Reuters on Tuesday. Maumee, Ohio-based Andersons sold its rail […] Read more

Parrish and Heimbecker’s existing grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. (ParrishandHeimbecker.com)

P+H to replace eastern Saskatchewan elevator

New facility, loop track to be on line in mid-2022

Agrifood company Parrish and Heimbecker (P+H) plans to build a new and leaner grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. to replace its 41-year-old facility there. The privately-held Winnipeg grain firm said Wednesday it has already started work on the new build, which it expects to have ready to receive grain in June next year. The existing […] Read more


(JJ Gouin/iStock/Getty Images)

IGC expects larger world grain crop but tighter stocks

MarketsFarm — World grain production is forecast to hit a new record in 2021-22, but increasing demand should still cause ending stocks to tighten to their lowest level in seven years, according to updated projections from the International Grains Council. Total grain production — which includes wheat, corn and other coarse grains — is forecast […] Read more

File photo of the Hernando de Soto Bridge as viewed from the Mud Island River Park at Memphis. (Akrassel/iStock/Getty Images)

Barge backlog starts moving as Mississippi River reopens

Over 1,000 barges waiting to pass

Chicago | Reuters — The Mississippi River reopened to vessel traffic near Memphis on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said, ending a shutdown of part of the waterway that caused a backlog of more than 1,000 barges carrying oil, corn and other goods. The Coast Guard said the river is open to all vessel traffic […] Read more



Loading grain on a vessel at a Burrard Inlet terminal. (Maxvis/iStock/Getty Images)

Ocean freight rates at decade highs

MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have climbed steadily higher over the past year, recovering from the lows hit at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 to see their highest levels in over a decade. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, hit a high of 3,266 points on Wednesday. […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cost index up for CN, down for CP in grain revenue formula

CP expects lower labour costs, CN higher

Expected labour costs were the major difference in a new ruling on the index that determines how much revenue each of Canada’s big two railways get to keep in the coming crop year from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Thursday announced its decisions on the volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) for […] Read more