CME February 2023 live cattle with 20- and 200-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, lean hog futures end higher

Grain values' slip spurs buying

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ended higher on Wednesday as expectations of tightening cattle supplies and a setback in grain prices sparked a round of buying, traders said. The most-active CME live cattle futures, for February delivery, settled up 1.2 cents at 154.25 cents/lb., a day after

At least 12 killed in Nigeria attack over farmland

Gunmen appear in village in north

Abuja | Reuters — Gunmen have killed at least 12 people in an attack on a village in the northern Nigerian state of Plateau, residents and the state governor said on Wednesday, the latest deadly incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in the country. Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become increasingly common


CBOT January 2023 soybeans (candlesticks, right column) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and December 2022 soyoil (black line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans follow soybean oil lower

CBOT wheat, corn retreat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell nearly two per cent on Wednesday, anchored by a profit-taking plunge in soyoil and crude oil futures, traders said. Wheat and corn futures declined on optimism about an extension of a deal to protect Black Sea exports, and as fears eased that the Ukraine war could escalate

ICE January 2023 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and ICE March 2023 canola (black line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Premium showing in front-month canola

'Surge' of farmer selling expected in January

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market held rangebound during the week ended Nov. 16, with the widening premium of the nearby January contract over the March futures seen as a sign of good nearby demand. ICE January canola settled Wednesday at $882.40 per tonne, a $10.50 per tonne premium over the March contract. That



Cargo ship Despina V, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 2, 2022.  (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Reasons for optimism seen on renewal for Ukraine grain deal

Deal set to roll over on Saturday

Reuters — A United Nations source on Wednesday said they have reasons to be “cautiously optimistic” on the renewal of a Black Sea grains export agreement, which is set to roll over on Saturday unless there are objections. The U.N.-backed agreement on July 22 allowed grain shipments to resume from certain Ukrainian ports on the


File photo of Upside Foods’ chicken product. (Upsidefoods.com)

Lab-grown meat cleared for human consumption by U.S. regulator

FDA's review not technically approval

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday. Upside Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks,

Andre Fortin, shown here at right in September at a community fair at Shawville, Que., about 75 km northwest of Ottawa, is the Quebec Liberals’ new critic for agriculture and health. (Andre Fortin via Facebook)

Quebec Liberals’ new ag critic to also handle health file

Fortin to also handle regional development, forestry

A quick re-shuffling of shadow cabinet responsibilities will see the agriculture critic for Quebec’s provincial opposition Liberals now also handle the health file. The Liberals’ interim leader Marc Tanguay — who took over after the Nov. 7 resignation of Dominique Anglade following the Oct. 3 general election — announced Tuesday that Andre Fortin, the party’s


Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea prices rise amid tight supplies

Supplies still haven't recovered off 2021

MarketsFarm — Chickpea prices in Western Canada are on the rise due to tight supplies, according to one trader. Prices for Kabuli chickpeas rose five cents per pound from last month, with high-delivered bids ranging from 40 cents/lb. for the seven-millimetre variety to 55.5 cents/lb. for 10-mm, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In comparison to

File photo of a soybean plantation in Brazil. (Mailson Pignata/iStock/Getty Images)

Cordonnier stands pat on South American crop projections

La Nina 'is still out there,' analyst says

MarketsFarm — At this point in the South American planting season it’s too early to get an accurate bead as to how much corn and soybeans will be grown in Brazil and Argentina, according to Dr. Michael Cordonnier of Soybean and Corn Advisor Inc. at Hinsdale, Ill. Cordonnier recently issued his latest estimates, keeping his