50 years ago this summer, Soviet agents traveled to North America in the middle of the Cold War and secretly bought massive amounts of grain, driving up world prices in one of the most significant events in the history of commodity trading — later dubbed the "Great Grain Robbery." Russ Crawford, who had a front-row... Read More
Category: Markets
It's rare that cropping plans become a choice of winners. For many, including certain crops or level of acres in any given year is more about rotation benefits, weed control plans, or contractual obligations. But this year is different. This year, many if not all cropping options could prove profitable, if Mother Nature abides and... Read More
The values of some of the current commodities may be at numbers we've never seen before; however, the trends are not new. Brian Voth of IntelliFarm joined RealAg Radio to discuss some of the current trends in the markets, and how producers can navigate through them. "The patterns we're seeing, they've shown up in history... Read More
It's no surprise that many cattle feeders are still facing negative margins. The combination of negative margins and a basis wider than we would like to see have created a question for many, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. From the producers' perspective, what do we need to do to make this basis... Read More
The cattle value chain has undergone significant pressure both to the upside and down since 2019. A major fire at a plant in the U.S. caused a backlog of processing. Soon after, COVID-19 hit. During 2020 and 2021, demand both at home and abroad skyrocketed. In short, for an industry that has to plan for... Read More
Spring is slowly making its way into the air across the country, as always, faster in some areas than others. As tractors begin to hit the fields, one of the things producers need to be paying attention to is which crop protection products could potentially hurt the marketability of a crop. Keep it Clean is... Read More
In the face of prolonged uncertainty, many farmers aren't sure if the fertilizer required for the 2022 planting and seeding season will arrive in time. There's an added layer of uncertainty in regards to what the final price tag will be when the fertilizer does arrive, as well. In late March, the RealAgristudies Insights Panel... Read More
Potassium powers soybean yield. Nitrogen and phosphorus make key contributions and then there are the micros like sulphur and boron that pitch in and help. How much of these nutrients should growers apply in 2022 to optimize their soybean acres? How do you navigate the challenge of skyrocketing fertilizer prices and availability versus lucrative market... Read More
In late March, the RealAgristudies Insights Panel asked six questions regarding fertilizer supply, supply on-farm, and sentiment regarding fertilizer sanctions. Over 450 participants answered those questions during the week the survey was posted, and here to analyze the results are Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, and Justin Funk, managing partner of Agri Studies. Haney and... Read More
Over the past few years the phrase "unprecedented times" has been used often and for good reason. There has been a continual domino effect of global events that has put a unique strain on many things, especially global trade. The result is that change isn't coming — it's here. As a country, Canada needs to... Read More