How many coffee shops in Western Canada are talking about the fall weather. Will we get an early frost? Does late spring mean early fall? Can September be the hottest month of the year again? Weather is always something that occupies a farmers mind because the timing is so critical. For example, if we have… Read More
Just when you think the wheat market is stable and that the supply and demand equation is fully priced in the market……BOOM!!!!!! Russia and some neighbouring countries decide to have a drought and WALLA!!!……The market have decided to go 2007 on us again. Who can stomach this volatility and craziness? Is this real or just… Read More
To say that last weeks release of the Mercy for Animals video from Conklin Dairy Farm was an outrage is being light. My post last week brought on some high amounts of emotion and ridicule for the people at Conklin dairy farm. In that post we also discussed the needed criticism for Mercy for Animals… Read More
Monsanto has been named the company of the year by Forbes magazine for the January 2010 issue. Monsanto is recognized for outstanding innovation in its field and as a result healthy performance on wall street. For me Monsanto is one of those hot button topics that sends off flares and fireworks for all sides of… Read More
As we have discussed on RealAgriculture.com before it seems that there is gaining speculation in the feed market. With only 92% of the corn harvest complete in North America speculation is gaining that we could see a higher run in the corn price if certain factors come to fruition. The USDA estimates that there… Read More
With public research in breeding getting cut back significantly across North America, some added funding is always welcomed. On Wednesday, the Alberta Livestock Meat Agency (ALMA) announced that they are going to invest eight million dollars into feed grains research. This money will fund projects in the area of varietal development and developing use technologies…. Read More
Based on the economic turmoil that the hog industry has been in over recent years, it is no surprise that barns have been de-populated and the industry has retrenched. One of the major events in recent months has been Big Sky Farms entering creditor protection. Big Sky is the largest hog operation in Saskatchewan and to say this is a… Read More
When an industry struggles financially, it becomes necessary to re-evaluate how business is done. The beef industry has struggled since the discovery of BSE in 2003 and the pork industry has felt the financial pain from the H1N1 pandemic. One solution being circulated in the coffee shops across the country is to make either of… Read More
It seems that trade issues are at the forefront right now in Canadian agriculture. We have country of origin labelling (COOL) and a volatile Canadian dollar to keep us busy. We now also have a serious situation in China where the Chinese have decided Canadian canola may be not fit to enter Chinese ports without… Read More
Last Thursday the Canadian Wheat Board released the October Pool Return Outlook. There is a lot of discussion that the oilseed story will continue into next year and the pool return outlook seems to be supporting this. I discussed the Pool Return Outlook with Jonathon Driedger, Market Analyst with Farm Link Marketing Solutions. Reaction to… Read More
With the warmest September on record it is maybe no surprise that October has been a harvesting nightmare. Ontario has been receiving its fair share of rain which has resulted in a late soybean harvest and a corn harvest that is just about to begin. There is a lot of interest in the Ontario corn… Read More
With harvest in the United States underway and off to a very slow start due to rain, there is a lot of discussion regarding the grain and oilseed market outlook. There has been many factors to consider: Struggling hog and beef sectors could hurt feed grain demand In the US, initial corn yields look very good Ethanol… Read More
To say that the currency market is volatile would be quite the understatement. We have seen the USD decrease in value by 15-20% in a very short time period. The economy has been a well discussed topic in the media, in the local coffee shop and in every boardroom of corporate America. The weakness in the US dollar (USD)… Read More