What are the risks for the 2022 crop? Weather, of course, is always a factor, but what about the markets? What if we can compared the risks of the market declining, to the possibility of input prices further rising? Margins could be a heck of a lot tighter next year, unless commodity prices make moves… Read More
This week was a bit of a wild ride in the markets following the JBS fire that occured in Granville Island, Nebraska. The plant — that has the capacity to process 6,000 head of cattle a day — is now back up and running, but it has many asking “how does this impact the cattle… Read More
China has formally requested to join the trade deal that was originally intended to limit China’s influence in the global economy. Canada and 10 other Pacific Rim countries signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — the CPTPP — in 2018. On Thursday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted China’s application to join… Read More
Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s plan to acquire Kansas City Southern (KCS) is one major step closer to becoming a done deal. The companies signed a merger agreement on Wednesday after rival Canadian National (CN) Railway waived its right to a five-day period to negotiate new terms with the coveted Kansas City-based railroad. The US$27.2 billion… Read More
Surprises were few and far between in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report on Friday. The major figures were largely in line with pre-report estimates. On the yield side of things, U.S. corn and soybeans came in just slightly above trade estimates. Corn was estimated at… Read More
As Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange puts it, here in Canada “cattle slaughter has been outstanding.” Following some really good weeks, total Canadian harvests hit 72,400 this week, as Wasko explains in this week’s Beef Market Update. “Breaking that down into young cattle and cows, the steer and heifer kill is basically 63,000…. Read More
The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) is responding to a request by Saskatchewan farm groups to intervene on producers’ behalf regarding contract fees and penalties incurred during the 2021 marketing year. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), SaskBarley, SaskCanola, SaskFlax, SaskOats, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, and SaskWheat released a joint statement this week, calling on… Read More
When we think about how farmers market their crop, there are two significant events that have occurred in 2021 that may drive people to think a little different going forward. One of those is the market run-up last fall, when prices really began to escalate.The second factor is farmers in the western half of North… Read More
Many crops grown in Canada are traded on an active futures market: corn, soybeans, canola, and wheat being the most common. But plenty of other crops don’t trade on futures, instead relying on cash prices, actual deliveries, and contracts for price discovery and risk management. Jon Driedger of LeftField Commodity Research says that when market… Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has updated its forecast for this year’s crop, reflecting the impact of drought in Western Canada in its August numbers. AAFC’s July report garnered more attention than normal, with a 19.9 million metric tonne (MT) canola production estimate coming in much higher than any other canola projections. In the outlook… Read More
Drought this year has been a leading news item for several months. A run-up in cattle sales seem to be uncharacteristically large in volume for the time of year, but are there factors other than drought that are driving producers to forward sell? “The drought really forced the issue this year and I think that… Read More
Starting this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is some positivity when it comes to trading fat cattle in both the U.S. and Western Canada. In the southern U.S., the fats are trading around the $122 mark, with the northern states around the $126-$128 mark, says… Read More
There’s never a dull moment in the fertilizer market and it’s hard not to wonder what will be in store for producers for the 2022 crop year. Josh Linville, director of fertilizer at StoneX, recently joined Shaun Haney on RealAg Radio to discuss the fertilizer markets, including what’s happening with tariffs. During Linville’s last conversation… Read More
The most recent estimates of the U.S. corn and soybean crops are in, and the numbers are slightly lower than anticipated. Significant drought in a large area of the U.S. is dragging down the United States Department of Agriculture’s projected average corn yield, now pegged at 174.6 bu/ac down from 179.5 bu/ac a month ago…. Read More
It’s been the story for weeks, but unfortunately, still a big one — there are large parts of the country that are facing drought, and it is severely impacting the beef industry. Seeing as this is the Beef Market Update, it wouldn’t be natural if we didn’t talk the price side of all of this… Read More