(Video screengrab from SQM.com via YouTube)

Nutrien to pause potash ramp up, ammonia project on falling prices

Potash prices have eased after the resumption of shipments from major supplier Belarus

Reuters – Nutrien NTR.TO on Wednesday decided to indefinitely pause its ramp-up plans for potash production and halt work on its clean ammonia project at Geismar, Louisiana, as the world’s biggest fertilizer producer grapples with falling prices. Its U.S.-listed shares fell 2.6% in extended trading as the company cited market conditions for stopping efforts to

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: wheat falls after Ukraine port attack renews worries

Russian attack Wednesday underscored the risk of a further squeeze on Ukrainian exports

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago wheat slid for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, after sharp gains overnight as supply jitters caused by a Russian strike against a Ukrainian port were tempered by strong Russian exports and signs Moscow is open to reviving a Black Sea corridor deal. Soybeans dipped to one-month lows and corn


ICE canola weekly outlook: Prices trending down ahead of harvest

ICE canola weekly outlook: Prices trending down ahead of harvest

Harvest pressure may not be that large this year says analyst

 MarketsFarm – ICE Futures canola contracts lost ground during the week ended Aug. 2, as spillover from outside markets and easing concerns over the state of the crop ahead of the harvest weighed on values. Excessive heat during the flowering period in June and July caused canola prices to climb higher, but the market is

Photo: Thinkstock

CBOT weekly outlook: August forecasts pulling prices down 

Wheat prices went down during the week despite Russia’s withdrawal from Black Sea deal

MarketsFarm – Recent weather forecasts for much of the United States put pressure on grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) during the week ended Aug. 2.  Cooler and wetter conditions are expected for the U.S. Midwest during the first half of August, which could help stabilize corn and soybean crops affected by


Mature winter wheat. (Allan Dawson photo)

Manitoba’s crops continue to hold up 

Hay yields generally below average; pasture conditions were deteriorating due to dryness

MarketsFarm – Timely rains in Manitoba have kept the province’s crops in relatively good shape, according to the latest crop report. Manitoba Agriculture said precipitation as of Aug. 1 amounted to as much as 73 millimeters around Zhoda in the southeast to 13 mm at The Pas in the north. Although several locales throughout the

Hot weather is posing a threat to corn crops in the U.S.  Photo: Thinkstock

Prairie forecast: Warm-hot start then slow cooldown

Issued August 2, covering August 2 to 9

The weather models have been doing a good job with the overall weather picture over the last several weeks, despite a fairly unsettled, tough-to-figure-out weather pattern. In this next forecast period, it will again be tough to figure out some of the finer details as our region experiences weak highs, lows, and even the possibility


(Omersukrugoksu/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia strikes Ukraine’s Danube port, sending global grain prices higher

Port hit on Danube opposite NATO-member Romania; Kyiv says aim is to intimidate shippers considering return

Kyiv | Reuters – Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramps up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships in their tracks as they prepared

File photo of cattle in an Alberta feedlot. (Geralyn Wichers photo)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle firms on strong cash market

Lean hog futures eased after reaching fresh four-month highs

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures gained on Tuesday, helped by strong cash prices and technical support, analysts said. “Cash market is still hanging in there at $179 to $180 area. More than that in the north. So August was too big of a discount,” said Alan Brugler, president of Brugler


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U.S. grains: Soybeans climb on export hopes; corn, wheat remain weak

Wheat slips again as Black Sea competition continues

Chicago | Reuters – Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher on Tuesday after two-sided trade, as export demand optimism won out over forecasts for cooler, wetter weather that pressured markets. Chicago corn eased, pressured by expectations that timely rains in August would improve heat-stressed crops. Wheat fell for a fifth session

Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: lentils poised to go either way pricewise 

Everything is dependent on the yields come harvest says analyst

MarketsFarm – Before the harvest of lentils gets underway across the Canadian Prairies, there has been some speculation as to which way prices could go, according to Levon Sargsyan of Johnston’s Grain.  “Of the two stories I’m getting, one is from farmers, and one is from buyers, and of course there’s bias,” Sargsyan commented.  “[The