File photo of vessels on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Plenty of upside now for canola

FUTURES | But a lot of harvesting, and harvest price pressure, is still to come

Harvest pressure, combined with a selloff by the funds, continued to bring down canola prices for the week ended Sept. 28 — but, just like the outlook for early fall temperatures for the Prairies, it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll go up or down. The ICE Futures November canola contract dropped $9.80 per tonne to close

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola looking for a spark

Recent declines in crude oil, diesel seen as bearish

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market hit its lowest levels in three months on the last trading day of September but has since uncovered some support in the first days of October. Canola “has found a level where it’s stabilized, but there’s not a lot of life right now,” said Ken Ball of PI


Manitoba cereal harvest completed

Canola crop seen as good to fair

Dry and warm weather during the week ended Monday helped Manitoba growers advance the harvest to levels not usually seen at this time of year. Harvest progress in the province was at 85 per cent complete as of Monday, compared to the five-year average of 73 per cent. With the exception of spring wheat at

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Britain says Russia may target civilian shipping with mines in Black Sea

Intel suggests goal is to deter Ukraine grain exports, Britain says

London | Reuters — Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including by laying them on the approach to Ukrainian ports, the British government said on Wednesday citing intelligence. Russia in July pulled out of a deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans firm, risk aversion caps gains

Corn and wheat drop, export data eyed

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures edged up on Wednesday, as a declining U.S. dollar lifted the oilseeds at one point nearly one per cent before risk aversion pushed prices back toward their opening levels. Wheat declined and corn was squeezed between them in what one strategist called a seasonal “bottoming formation” for the U.S. agriculture

File photos of Yukon ranchland. (StockstudioX/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Building western ridge to bring warming trend

Issued Oct. 4, covering Oct. 4-10

Last week’s weather forecast played out close to what the weather models were predicting. Western regions saw cooler-than-average temperatures move in, while eastern regions saw a brief return to summer-like temperatures. This pattern was a response to an area of low pressure that spun up over the central U.S. during the second half of the


Manitoba’s incumbent NDP ag critic Diljeet Brar and Tory ag minister Derek Johnson appeared with Green Party leader Janine Gibson and Liberal candidate Neil Stewart (l-r) on Sept. 12, 2023 at a forum hosted by the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Geralyn Wichers)

Manitoba legislature’s agriculture leaders to return under new management

NDP scores majority over incumbent Tories

Manitoba’s incumbent agriculture minister and lead opposition agriculture critic are headed back to the legislature — but under a new seating plan. Opposition leader Wab Kinew’s New Democrats are expected to form a majority government coming out of Tuesday’s provincial election, unseating incumbent premier Heather Stefanson’s Progressive Conservatives. Just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, NDP candidates

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans drop in choppy trade

Wheat futures lifted by surprise purchase from China

Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Tuesday, at one point nearing their lowest levels since December of 2021, under pressure from a stronger dollar, improving signs for the U.S. harvest and a brisk start to planting in Brazil. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans settled down 0.3 per cent at $12.72-3/4 a bushel. Futures


File photo of Lake Winnipeg at Grand Beach Provincial Park. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Wet weather for southern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan

Update issued Oct. 2, covering Oct. 2-4

The strong area of low pressure that the weather models have been forecasting to impact the eastern half of the Prairies on Tuesday and Wednesday is starting to take shape. The latest model runs show the low pushing northward into western Manitoba early on Tuesday morning and then moving off toward northwestern Ontario by late

Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Expert’s Radar: Competition and retribution in view

Questions on export demand await wane of harvest pressures

Harvest operations are in their final stages across Western Canada, with all of that newly harvested grain looking for a home. Seasonal trends in grain markets weigh on most crops at this time of year as the supply/demand balance is flush with new supplies, but the long-range price direction will soon refocus on demand. Exports