Grains finished the last full week of trading in September in the green thanks to some unfavourable weather conditions in Europe and Asia, and better-expected-export numbers for U.S. sales. While crop progress reports in North America continue to show that things are ahead of schedule & crop quality is relatively decent, some good buying strength… Read More

Can corn production on the western side of the U.S. Corn Belt offset the reduced yields due to excess moisture in the east? That’s one of the corn market’s main questions heading into harvest. After visiting fields under knee-deep water in early July, Moe Agostino of Farms.com Risk Management says it was clear corn and soybean yields… Read More

Grains this week were relatively mixed as a combination of various weather forecasts and new production reports had the trade flip-flopping all over the place. Corn and soybeans were lower with good growing conditions and South American planting starting up. The strength of the U.S. dollar has been waning a bit as expectations were confirmed… Read More

It’s an interesting market for beef producers. While fed cattle are still struggling to find their market low, feeder animals are well above last year’s prices. And cow/calf producers may be feeling relieved, but will good margins be enough to persuade herd expansion? We hand Shaun Haney a bar of soap for this mid-September edition of the Beef… Read More

Statistics Canada released its first crop production estimates using a new model-based methodology on Thursday. The model takes into account satellite data, as well as historical figures from the traditional StatsCan Field Crop Reporting Series and agroclimatic information. What wasn’t required in compiling the numbers was a survey of farmers. “The traditional survey relies completely on interviewing… Read More

This past week the PDQ (price and data quotes) website was launched for farmers across Western Canada. As noted by Tom Steve of the Alberta Wheat Commission, “This level of cooperation is encouraging and we look forward to improving the level of price transparency available for farmers and other industry stakeholders via PDQ.” In truth,… Read More

Winnipeg-based special crops marketing company Legumex Walker Inc. has signed a deal to sell its special crops business to The Scoular Company. With its Pacific Coast Canola plant in financial trouble, Legumex Walker announced in March it had formed a committee to explore options for selling all or part of the company, possibly including its primary… Read More