CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat up on broad commodity strength

Crop-stressing dry heat expected in Midwest

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat futures rose on Monday in response to worries about potentially stressful hot weather in the Midwest and Europe, coupled with bullish sentiment in crude oil and a weaker dollar, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade benchmark December corn settled up seven cents at $6.10-3/4 per bushel, […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn, soybean futures rise

Chicago wheat ends weaker

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures gained 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, supported by concerns that hot and dry weather in the U.S. Midwest could cut into harvest yields, traders said. Soybean futures also were firm, recovering from sharp declines after the U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report […] Read more

CBOT November 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, dark green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn firm on weather worries

CBOT wheat drops; grain traders also positioning ahead of Tuesday's USDA report

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures climbed on Monday on forecasts for hot, dry conditions across the Midwest farm belt as well as technical buying and positioning ahead of Tuesday’s monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply-and-demand reports. The market eased from overnight highs, however, as updated weather models appeared slightly less […] Read more

Photo: File

Wet weather affecting acreage numbers: analysts

MarketsFarm – With some parts of Western Canada experiencing delayed seeding due to wet weather, many analysts believe the conditions have caused a ripple effect on acreage totals for the 2022-23 marketing year. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will release its second survey-based acreage report for the 2022-23 marketing year on July 5. Traders and analysts are […] Read more

The executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers anticipates a rise in seeded lentil acres this year, along with a decline in seeded dry pea acres.  Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse weekly outlook: SaskPulse head hoping for “normal” in 2022

MarketsFarm – Following variable conditions over the first few weeks of the growing season, there has now been a marked improvement over the last, according to Carl Potts, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SaskPulse). Potts said while western parts of the province had little precipitation and eastern parts saw seeding delayed due to above-normal […] Read more


(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan shores up disaster program for bigger farms

Program extends PDAP aid to higher-revenue farm businesses

Saskatchewan farmers whose operations took damage from storms in April, but whose gross revenues overtopped the maximum for disaster assistance, will now be able to get in on that program. The province on June 16 announced “supplemental relief” via the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program to help farmers who didn’t qualify under PDAP’s usual eligibility rules. […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas, lentils faring well but threats remain

MarketsFarm — Growing conditions for peas and lentils in Saskatchewan during the spring can be described as variable. While western parts of the province continued to endure dry conditions carried over from last year’s drought, regions in the east were drenched with near-continuous rainfall to go along with below-normal temperatures. Lionel Ector, president of Diefenbaker […] Read more

CBOT July 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (green line), MGEX July 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures hit lowest since late March

Chicago corn, soybeans also weak

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures sank 5.7 per cent on Tuesday to their lowest level in 2-1/2 months, pressured by early harvesting in the United States and Europe as well as fresh efforts to boost the amount of grain shipped from Ukraine. Corn futures were down three per cent as weather forecasts turned […] Read more


Benchmark uses existing IOT sensors at the farm level and then works to improve the forecast from Environment Canada and the National Weather Service. The company says it can use many brands of equipment and work with a farm’s historical data to improve accuracy.

Weather forecaster uses many sources

New system gathers information from sensors, national forecasters and machine learning to localize forecasts

Glacier FarmMedia – California-based Benchmark Labs uses Internet of Things weather sensors, information from national forecasters and machine learning to improve local weather forecasts for farmers. Carlos Gaitan, chief executive officer of Benchmark Labs, said the new system was designed with growers of specialty crops in mind so they can adjust quickly to imminent weather […] Read more

File photo of cattle in a Kansas feedlot. (BeyondImages/E+/Getty Images)

Heat, humidity kill at least 2,000 Kansas cattle, state says

Chicago | Reuters — Extreme heat and humidity killed thousands of cattle in Kansas in recent days, the state said, and sizzling temperatures continue to threaten livestock. The deaths add pain to the U.S. cattle industry as producers have reduced herds due to drought and grappled with feed costs that climbed as Russia’s invasion of […] Read more