CME lean hog futures retreat from 4-month high

CHICAGO, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs settled lower on Tuesday after profit-taking and fund liquidation dropped futures from an early-session four-month high, said traders. February hogs ended 2.650 cents per pound lower at 63.500 cents. April closed down 1.175 cents to 66.900 cents. Both contracts finished below their respective 10-day moving […] Read more


Marcus Weidler, vice-president of seed operations at Bayer, says the company’s first hybrid wheat products could be available to western Canadian growers by 2023.  |  File photo

Yield-boosting hybrid wheat varieties on the horizon

Farmers in Western Canada have always relied on innovation to make their farms more productive and more profitable. From mechanical innovations such as combine harvesters and rubber wheeled tractors nearly a century ago to the adoption more recently of chemical weed control products, genetically modified crop varieties and GPS assisted machinery, the evolution of prairie […] Read more





CME live cattle soars to 6-month high on cash price hopes

CHICAGO, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday surged to a six-month high, fueled by the recent rally in wholesale beef values and steady-to-firmer cash price expectations for unsold cattle, said traders. December live cattle, which will expire on Friday, closed 2.725 cents per pound higher at 118.700 cents. Most […] Read more


After three years, Picnic Charcuterie still does all sausage making, food preparation and retailing in this 400 sq. foot garage. Entrepreneur Tina Windsor hopes that volunteer contributions from the crowd funding group Kickstarter will allow her to expand the shop.  |  Jeremy Koreski photo

Charcuterie gets a kick start

Sometimes you need to kick start pigs to make them fly, which is what entrepreneur Tina Windsor had in mind when applying for Kickstarter funding to help grow her charcuterie. The word charcuterie dates back to the first century and refers to a butcher shop devoted primarily to sausages, hams, bacons, pates and other prepared […] Read more


Chef Blair Lebsack is owner of The Butchery and Rge Rd restaurant in Edmonton.  |  Detour Photography photo

Restaurant gets food from the source

As a young chef, Blair Lebsack questioned why most food arrived in boxes on a truck from a central supply depot. “I always asked the driver where it came from and he didn’t know,” he said. Lebsack had grown up on a mixed farm near Red Deer where they raised livestock and garden produce for […] Read more

Corn, wheat, soy retreat in technical year-end trade, ICE Canola Weakens

CHICAGO, Dec 28 (Reuters) – U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures fell on Wednesday in technically driven trade as investors squared positions toward the end of the year and the dollar firmed, analysts said. Additional pressure stemmed from easing concerns about crop weather in South America. As of 12:38 p.m. CST (1838 GMT), Chicago Board […] Read more