Happy Wednesday! Pour the Timmies, knock the dust off the boots, and let's talk grain.

Ottawa quietly loosened the rules on what you're allowed to spray — and a senator says it could cost us the very export markets we're chasing.

The USMCA clock is ticking toward a first-week-of-July review, with the U.S. farm lobby leaning hard on Washington to renew it.

And canola's clawing back its footing while Chicago wheat takes one on the chin.

Canola = ICE front-month (RS, July) Jun 23 close — Nov new-crop not confirmed today. Chi wheat = CBOT July. AB fed steers = Canfax, wk ending Jun 12. Diesel = SK pump avg (weekly), easing as crude retreats post-Hormuz. Loonie = CAD in USD, Jun 23.

What happened: Bill C-30 — the omnibus budget bill — cleared both the House and Senate last week. Tucked inside: an amendment to the Pest Control Products Act that lets cabinet override Health Canada and authorize a banned pesticide for up to six years, in the name of "economic security," "food security," or a "seriously detrimental infestation."

Why it happened: It rode in on the spring economic update, sold as cutting red tape and shifting to "modern, risk-based oversight." Fair enough — farmers have grumbled for years that Canada's approval process moves at the speed of a loaded grain cart in spring mud.

What it means for the farm gate: It cuts both ways. More tools, faster, when a pest blows up overnight? That's a win for the guy in the sprayer cab.

But Sen. Rosa Galvez warns it works against Ottawa's own plan to diversify trade away from the U.S. — because the picky overseas buyers Canada's courting (hello, EU) enforce strict residue limits. Loosen the rules at home, and you risk loads getting bounced abroad.

Canola, pulses, and specialty crops carry the most basis risk if a residue spat flares up. Cheaper pest control today, tighter export doors tomorrow — that's the trade.

👉 Read the full story

(No fresh machinery/autonomy news in the window today, so we're reading the biofuel tea leaves instead.)

The number: U.S. ethanol production slipped to 1.09 million barrels/day in the week ending June 19 — down 12,000 bpd on the week, though still a hair (0.8%) above last year. Inventories nudged up to 24.6 million barrels.

Why a Prairie reader cares: Ethanol is a corn story first — and a softer ethanol grind is one more reason corn's sitting heavy (~$4.10 July), which is good news for anyone buying feed.

But it's also a barometer for the whole biofuels engine.

The same blending-demand winds that move ethanol also drive the renewable-diesel and biodiesel build-out, which has become a real outlet for canola oil.

A U.S. ethanol stall isn't a five-alarm fire, but it's a yellow flag worth watching for oilseed-crush demand.

👉 See the numbers

The American Farm Bureau is leaning on Washington to renew USMCA ahead of its scheduled review the first week of July.

Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall pitched it plainly: Canada and Mexico together buy nearly $60 billion of U.S. ag a year, and Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall says the two have flat-out replaced China as his state's top export markets.

Why it's in the Pen: USMCA is the plumbing under Canada–U.S. live cattle, feeder, and hog trade — billions move both directions, tariff-free.

A messy review means basis and border risk for feedlots and hog barns, just as Alberta fed steers hover near record highs ($350/cwt).

The American lobby wants it locked in; for Prairie producers, a smooth renewal is the quiet outcome worth rooting for.

👉 Dig in

6 YEARS — how long cabinet can now keep a pesticide Health Canada already banned in your tank, under Bill C-30's new override.

That's the bin emptied for today. Spray smart, watch your residues, and keep one eye on that July trade calendar. Catch you tomorrow — same bin, same coffee. ☕