While many of us industry types were getting back into routine this week, the bad weather hangover in Ontario was still raging. Our own Shaun Haney got hung up in Las Vegas while trying to get to the Southwest Agricultural Conference (SWAC), and even Bern Tobin, our Ontario field editor missed the first day do... Read More
Category: Markets
While the fundamentals seem to hint at conditions being right for the Canadian cow herd to begin an expansion phase, it’s not happening. Cull rates of about 10% would signal ranchers building their herds; 2013 numbers will end up somewhere about 15%, a number more synonymous with liquidation than expansion. According to Brian Perillat, senior... Read More
If the NOTORIOUS B.I.G was a market analyst he would describe the current situation in Western Canada as, "Mo crop, mo problems" (was that a reach???). The 2014 Western Canadian crop is very large, on farm storage is full, railways are jammed and ports are shipping as much as they can. Get More: If you... Read More
Noting the decision was "not easy" but a "necessary one," PotashCorp president and chief executive, Bill Doyle, announced this morning job cuts of over 1,000 for the company. The bulk of the jobs lost (approximately 440) will be in Saskatchewan, then the next highest will be in Florida (350) and New Brunswick (140. Many of... Read More
Selling grain can be as easy as a phone call, but that's the exception, not the rule. What's more, getting a deal done usually requires a bit of back and forth to get the terms that work for your farm. The easier it is for grain buyers and grain sellers to connect and negotiate, the... Read More
After skipping the October update due to the U.S. government shutdown, this morning's USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was much anticipated by traders and farmers alike. While bearish news abounded ahead of the report, especially on the corn side, many were hoping that added yield would be balanced by decreased acres... Read More
A three-year deal still needs to be ratified by workers, but Canadian National (CN) railway reports today that a tentative deal has been struck with the Teamsters union and a rail strike has been averted. The threatened strike would have crippled an already severely taxed logistics system trying to move the huge 2013 crop. As... Read More
Farmers who banked on moving crop in September are running into road blocks left and right, even on the eve of November. A bumper crop across most crop kinds in all three Prairie Provinces is taxing Western Canada's railway service and elevators are at or near capacity, even with huge piles of grain being stored... Read More
Cigi (more formally the Canadian International Grains Institute) is on the receiving end of a Canadian government commitment to the tune of $6.4 million to establish a Moroccan National Durum Technical Training Centre (DTTC) in Casablanca. According to a Cigi press release, funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) over the... Read More
Who can complain about $1,000 calves, lower feed prices and actual positive feeding margins? Well maybe cash croppers..... It is starting to look like it is the beef producers turn to make some money in this economic tug-of-war. But wait, there are some issues standing in the way of profits and smooth sailing. As Anne... Read More