Katlin Lang is co-founder of FarmSimple Solutions, a company that provides a water trough sensor for remote watering system.
 Photo: John Greig

At Ag in Motion: Water trough monitoring made easier

Glacier FarmMedia – Imagine being able to run to the lake without worrying about water trough levels for grazing cattle. That’s the scenario that drove Katlin and his brother Dustin Lang, of Vibank, Sask., to found a company to provide a water trough monitoring system. Designed for troughs that are connected to solar systems out

The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

U.S. Grains: wheat futures drop, corn weak, soybeans mixed

Market going "from forecast to forecast" says expert

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. wheat futures dropped 4.1 per cent on Friday, with traders locking in profits from a rally sparked by escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war that raised the prospects of export disruptions from the two key global suppliers. Corn futures also were weaker, pressured by forecasts that showed more rain and cooler temperatures in


Photo: Canada Beef

U.S. Livestock: cattle futures fall, supplies remain tight

USDA says farmers raising the fewest number of beef cows since 1971

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group live cattle futures weakened on Friday but remained near all-time highs hit a day earlier as traders squared positions ahead of key government supply reports. Traders said that the market faced pressure from profit-taking but weakness in the corn market helped limit the decline. August live cattle futures

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture at their annual conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick in July 2023.
 Photo: AAFC

Federal and provincial ag ministers meet in Fredericton

Environmental issues remain a hot topic for provincial agriculture ministers. That and sustainable agriculture dominated discussions during the recent federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting in Fredericton, N.B. The annual conference was held from July 19-21. The focus on sustainable agriculture tracks, as this is the first time the ministers have met since


Photo: File

Fund position flips to net long in canola

The last time the market was showing a net long position was the first week of January

MarketsFarm – The managed money position in canola flipped from a net short to a net long for the first time in six months during the week ended July 18, as fund traders covered short positions and put on new bullish bets, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity

  Photo: Greg Berg

AAFC lowers Canadian wheat ending stocks estimates

Drop in estimated oats carryout another notable adjustment

 MarketsFarm – Canadian wheat ending stocks for both the current marketing year and 2023/24 (Aug/Jul) were revised lower by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s market analysis division in its updated supply/demand estimates, released July 21, with tighter oats and pulse stocks also expected.  Wheat ending stocks for 2022/23 were lowered to 3.540 million tonnes by AAFC,


File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

Rain in China’s northeast brings relief for corn, drought risk remains

An oversupply of hogs, weak demand are pressuring pork prices

Beijing | Reuters – Recent rainfall in China’s northeastern breadbasket has relieved drought across most of the region, an agriculture ministry official said Friday, but risks remain with the El Nino weather pattern potentially bringing more extreme weather this summer. China is the world’s second-biggest corn producer and about 40 per cent of its crop

File photo of Black Sea port facilities at Odesa, Ukraine. (Leskas/iStock/Getty Images)

Russian diplomat accuses Ukraine of using Black Sea grain corridor for attacks

Russia says it's negotiating exports of food to countries most in need

Moscow | Reuters – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday accused Ukraine of using a grain export corridor in the Black Sea to launch “terrorist attacks” against Russian interests, including one this week on the Crimean Bridge. Vershinin was addressing a briefing about Russia’s decision on Monday to quit the year-old Black Sea



Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

At Ag in Motion: World may face wheat shortage this year

An analyst says millers should be getting antsy

Wheat is finally becoming a “sexy” crop after years of being the ugly duckling, an analyst says. Stephen Nicholson, global grains and oilseeds strategist for Rabobank, said a series of supply-side threats is making things exciting. Canada’s crops are withering in the fields. MarketsFarm is forecasting 30.4 million tonnes of all-wheat production, well below the