LONDON - In what could be a boon for Ontario crop farmers and a wallop in the wallet for consumers, scorching heat gripping the U.S. Midwest has sent corn and soybean prices soaring to dizzying heights.
Just a couple of months ago, Ontario corn farmers meeting at the London Convention Centre were warned to brace themselves for prices to fall to $3.50 a bushel from about $6.
On Friday, corn was trading at more than $7 a bushel on the Chicago commodity exchange, a jump of more than 35% in three weeks. Soybeans hit their highest price in four years.
Corn is North America’s most important crop. It’s used for fuel, in hundreds of consumer products, and is a major source of feed for the livestock industry.
In Ontario, the crop injects close to $1 billion a year into the farm economy.
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