ICE January 2021 canola (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and CBOT January 2021 soyoil (blue line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola stronger at midweek

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts were stronger on Wednesday, making up losses incurred earlier in the week. The nearby January contract closed Wednesday at $578.90 per tonne, gaining a few dollars after losing $7 in the prior day’s trade. Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg said canola’s losses were due to chart

The historic dome building on the Keystone Centre grounds in Brandon.

Pandemic puts time out on RMWF planning

The hits keep coming for Manitoba’s ag fairs

COVID-19 has hit pause on yet another ag fair normally put on by the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. The exhibition board has suspended planning for the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, which typically draws thousands to Brandon’s Keystone Centre for trade shows, horse and cattle exhibits, agricultural education and other entertainment in March, the exhibition announced


A recent survey of consumers noted high praise for Canada’s food system in response to COVID-19.

COVID confidence a silver lining

The pandemic has spurred all-time high confidence in Canadian food system

A new report says Canadians have more confidence than ever before in the food system, but concern remains over rising costs. In its 2020 Public Trust Research Report, “Trends in Trust & The Path Forward,” the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI), 47 per cent of those surveyed report being confident in the overall direction

CME February 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (pink line) and CME January 2021 feeder cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures follow beef prices, Dow higher

Chicago lean hogs end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday for a third straight session, lifted by surging wholesale beef prices and optimism that coronavirus vaccines could trigger an economic recovery, bolstering demand for meat, traders said. Wall Street’s Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high above 30,000 on upbeat COVID-19 vaccine news,


Robert Gikunda trains Mary Karimi, a project participant, on how to use smartphones for data collection at a hotel in Mukothima, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya on October 2, 2020.

Recovery will be a long haul, says Canadian Foodgrains Bank

In the midst of deepening worldwide need, Canadian donors stepped up

For some families in countries without social safety nets, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to eat less or sell assets that might have helped them recover, says the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. “The numbers of people who will be experiencing hunger are going up,” said Musu Taylor-Lewis, director of resources and public engagement at



(AWSeebaran/iStock/Getty Images)

Atlantic bubble disintegrates as COVID-19 cases rise

Toronto | Reuters — The “bubble” pact between Canada’s four Atlantic provinces has disintegrated in the face of rising COVID-19 cases across the country, as premiers in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador announced quarantine requirements for all travelers from outside their provinces on Monday. The two provinces joined in a so-called “bubble” with

The Roquette pea processing plant under construction in Portage la Prairie in October 2020.

Roquette site falls prey to pandemic

The site of the pea processing facility, due to open late this year, has now had several COVID-19 cases

The site of the pea-processing facility, due to open late this year, has now had several COVID-19 cases

The site of the under-construction Roquette pea protein plant at Portage la Prairie has joined the list of workplaces fighting COVID-19. Roquette confirmed five positive tests for COVID-19 on the site as of Nov. 9. “Four of the affected individuals are contracted construction workers helping to build the plant,” Michelle Finley, Roquette’s communications and public



CME February 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures tumble on demand worries

Corn values also weigh on feeder cattle, hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures tumbled on Thursday on worries about demand for beef and pork as soaring coronavirus infections across the country threatened more restaurant and food service closures and forced more Americans to shelter at home. Investors also fear a repeat of the livestock processing disruptions seen in the