Grain markets were served up another monthly instalment of the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) this past week by the USDA, but if you didn’t know that, you might’ve missed it. The report came out as mostly expected, which was bearish, and since there weren’t too major surprises in this WASDE report, I’ve… Read More
Rumours of pretty strong Canadian beef exporter numbers for early 2019 weren’t an exaggeration as Statistics Canada’s official numbers puts January exports at a pedal to the metal pace. Confirming what the market heard anecdotally, StatsCan says beef exports to the Asia region in January were up 22 per cent year-over-year. Japan accounted for a… Read More
In presentations I frequently open up my talks discussing the agriculture challenges in Canada and the United States and then finish the opening by saying, “it could be worse, we could be in the UK.” It always gets a laugh, but for farmers in the UK, a possible crash exit from the EU is no… Read More
In her first trip to Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau spent the day in Saskatoon discussing the issue of China blocking Canadian canola shipments with producers and industry stakeholders. Trade Diversification Minister, Jim Carr was also present during the two part meeting held late last week. Bibeau says they’re “ready to go” when… Read More
This just in: there’s lots of grain still out there. But you already knew this. With the last year of a trade war with China and another big harvest in 2018, the USDA reminded us on Friday, March 29th, that there’s still a lot of grain left out there. Corn was hit the hardest, as… Read More
There are oh-so-many factors at play in the oilseed complex, and the latest trade news (hi there, blocked canola shipments) does not bode well for the vegetable oil market. That said, soybean prices seemed to have encountered some price resistance at the mid-$9/bu price… could this be a bottom? Unfortunately, Chuck Penner, realist and founder… Read More
Grain markets worked through the third week of March with weather headlines drowning most of the Chinese trade issues in the U.S., but it was the opposite in Canada. In outside markets, global stocks and bond yields fell on Friday as fresh data points have amplified some thinking about a weakening world economy. On Thursday,… Read More
Over the weekend, Members of Parliament held an emergency meeting to discuss the restriction of canola shipments from Richardson International to China. The news of the blocked shipments broke about two weeks ago, and China import officials say the revoked cargo was due to ‘hazardous pests’. Brandon-Souris MP, Larry Maguire says other MPs wanted this emergency… Read More
At a time when farmers are hammering out final crop plans, ranchers and feedlot operators are also looking ahead to ration formulations ahead of the first new-crop harvests. To get a sense of western feed markets, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney invited Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities Ltd., on stage at the recent TechTourLIVE… Read More
Grain markets were able to climb off the lows this week as some bullish factors have started to come into play, as well as some technical relief. To start off, after the largest funds’ net short position since January 2018 helped test new contract lows last week, corn prices have picked up their socks a… Read More
The news The Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) has received $6.2 million in funding from the federal government, announced by new Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau. Cigi is based at Winnipeg, Man. The funding is earmarked to expand the market for Canadian wheat through technical support, market research, employee exchanges, and customized training for customers… Read More
There are a lot of anxious canola farmers in Canada at the moment – and with good reason. One of the most important export markets for Canadian canola has suspended imports from one of Canada’s largest and most storied grain companies, Richardson International. The most common feeling seems to be that it is just politics… Read More
The USDA released its February 1st Cattle on Feed Report on Friday. According to the report, cattle and calves on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totalled 11.7 million head. The inventory was slightly above February 1, 2018. Placements in feedlots during January totalled 1.96 million head, 5 per cent below… Read More
Grain markets were served up a monthly WASDE report on Friday, March 8th, but the numbers didn’t bring any new bullish feelings to the table. Most of the numbers that the USDA produced were either pretty close to their February WASDE number, or the pre-report estimate (which, as you can tell for yourself below, were… Read More
When news announcers talk about “geo-political uncertainty,” or “bi-lateral trade disputes,” it all seems quite remote from the lives of most people. For Canadian farmers, though, it often hits very close to home because the overwhelming majority of Canadian agricultural production is exported. This is why when news that one of the Canada’s largest agriculture… Read More