Big supplies still sit heavy on canola values

Weekly grain market report for week ending Nov. 15

ICE Futures Canada canola held rangebound for the most part during the week ended Nov. 15, but dropped sharply on Friday to settle with losses overall. The January contract tested the psychological $500-per-tonne level a couple of times during the week, but never managed to settle above that chart point. A firmer tone in the



Chinese state media kick into high gear to ease GMO food fears

China’s state media are working overtime to persuade the public that genetically modified food is safe, apparently softening up the population for a policy switch to allow the sale of such food to ensure its 1.35 billion people have enough to eat. In the past 30 years, China’s urban population has jumped to about 700

New grains council head faces personal and professional challenges

Richard Phillips has taken over as president of the Canadian Grains Council at a 
difficult time in his own life and one of rapid change in the grain sector

Richard Phillips was expecting plenty of challenges when he took over as president of the Canadian Grains Council. But July 31, his last day as executive director of Grain Growers of Canada, brought him a challenge he hadn’t expected. His doctor told him he had an advanced case of bladder cancer. What was to have


A corn farmer holds corncobs during a protest in Mexico City January 2013. Farmers protested against the growing of transgenic or genetically modified corn, as it is one of the primary food staples of Mexico and Central America.  
Photo: REUTERS/Bernardo Montoya

Past and future collide as Mexico fights over GMO corn

After pioneering the cultivation of corn thousands of years ago, Mexico must overcome the weight of history to give the go-ahead to allow genetically modified strains into its fields. Religion, culture and science are competing for primacy in the debate on how acceptable corn produced by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is in a country where

REFILE-GRAINS-Corn firms, extends 2-day gains to 1.5 pct on bargain-buying

(Removes extraneous word from headline) SYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures rose for the second straight session on Wednesday, extending gains to more than 1.5 percent on technical-buying and bargain-hunting after prices hit a three-year low the day before. FUNDAMENTALS * Chicago Board of Trade December corn climbed 0.18 percent to $4.18-1/2 a



LIVESTOCK-CME live cattle futures decline on technical selling

* CME feeder finish down sharply * Hog futures close narrowly mixed By Meredith Davis CHICAGO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower on Tuesday, pressured by technical selling and weaker wholesale beef prices, analysts and traders said. As the Thanksgiving holiday season approaches beef demand typically diminishes in favor



U.S. Cash Grains-Corn firm on river, soy mixed

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Corn spot basis bids were firm at U.S. Midwest river terminals early on Tuesday, bolstered by lower barge freight rates and a drop in futures to fresh three-year lows that made the grain more competitive in global export markets, dealers said. * Soybean bids also firmed along the Illinois River, while