As we say goodbye to October, colder weather is setting in just as the markets could be warming up. More than a few analysts are pointing to soy meal as a driver of the sustained rally we’ve seen in the grain markets recently, but the move is now beyond “rational levels”. With an increase in… Read More
Month: October 2014
Are you ready for corn prices down around $2.70/bushel, or soybeans under $7 next fall? Those numbers were included in some of the projections shared in Winnipeg this week, as market analysts and traders from around the world gathered for the second annual Cereals North America market outlook conference. The conference was organized and co-hosted… Read More
Growth in the area of seed treating and coating has led turf and seed company BrettYoung to build a new multi-million dollar, 28 thousand square foot seed coating facility in the southwest corner of Winnipeg. A grand opening for the seed treatment plant, which has annual capacity exceeding 50 million pounds, was held on Tuesday…. Read More
Cargill has announced it will be closing its grain handling facility at Swan River, Manitoba as of May 31st, 2015. The site, which includes two elevators, “would require significant and costly upgrades in order to maintain the high level of safety and efficiency standards at Cargill,” said Jeff Wildeman, the regional manager for Cargill AgHorizons,… Read More
Genetically engineering insects is no longer a vision for the future. In fact, one group of GE mosquitoes, Oxitec Ltd’s OX513A, have moved from proof of principle to deployment, and have been used in open field trials in Malaysia, Grand Cayman, and now in Brazil. The mosquitoes are hoped to control their non-modified counterpart, Aedes aegypti, the… Read More
Bayer CropScience (Bayer) and DuPont Crop Protection (DuPont) have signed of an agreement for Bayer to purchase certain DuPont Crop Protection land management assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. Through the acquisition, Bayer gains access to DuPont’s forestry, range and pasture products and expands its environmental science business unit to… Read More
Municipal elections took place this week in Ontario, delivering to us a whole new slate of wide-eyed municipal councillors. Many of them ran on platforms of change, hope, difference and progress, and I believe they meant it. Typically, municipal councils are populated by well-intentioned people determined to help their own community. Municipal councillors don’t want… Read More
The bulls have continued to lead grain markets higher over the past week, translating into a selling opportunity for 2015 and even 2016, according to bearish analysts. From the Cereals North America market outlook conference in Winnipeg, here’s our weekly farm news recap for October 30th, 2014. Kelvin recaps what’s happened in the markets, the… Read More
John Deere’s new W260 self-propelled windrower and 500R platform were on display at the Farm Progress Show this year. “The combination of the W260 Windrower and 500R Platform results in improved cut quality and consistent windrow formation to minimize dry-down time and deliver high-quality hay and forage,” said James Petersen, senior marketing representative, John Deere Ottumwa Works, in… Read More
Hearing yourself on the radio or — gulp — seeing yourself on TV can cause cold sweats for some. An estimated 75% of us fear public speaking — now add in that the public discussion may be recorded and broadcast and it’s no wonder not everyone volunteers to speak to media. Of course, there are… Read More
Hello! If you visit this site regularly you’ll be very familiar with me, because my work is everywhere. If for some reason you haven’t heard of me, my name is Rhett Soveran and I joined the RealAg team at the beginning of the year as the Product Manager. I handle all the technical stuff that… Read More
Imagine floating weightless in an office far above earth, eating pizza straight out of a 3D printer. Well, astronauts may not be far from experiencing such unique meal preparations in space. In May 2013, NASA announced funding for a phase I, six-month $125, 000 study on 3D printing of foods in order to assess the technology’s ability… Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission has released a report that provides an overall perspective on cereal crop acres grown in Western Canada this year, breaking down acres by province, class and variety. Carberry, Harvest and Stettler were the most popular Canada Western Red Spring wheat varieties grown on the prairies this year (see chart below), while Flourish… Read More
Do you know what quality impact moving corn through your handling, drying and storage set up has? It can be significant, but if you’re not sampling (and sampling properly) at several points in the process, you can’t know for sure. What’s more, a good chunk of damage, either through too hot/too fast drying or moisture… Read More
The idea that GMO-free foods are more “natural” than those with genetically modified ingredients is a misconception, says a plant biologist and advocate for genetic modification from the University of Florida. Speaking at the University of Manitoba last week, Kevin Folta discussed how transgenic (or GM) technology works and misunderstandings about genetically modified organisms. He said by definition,… Read More