Geopolitics, interest rates, currency fluctuations, market demand and the weather — there’s much for farmers to consider when making business decisions in a volatile market. Meteorologist and market analyst Shawn Hackett says it’s important for farmers to have a good understanding of all the factors that can impact prices to build effective marketing strategy. At… Read More
Category: Economy & Financial Markets
It’s time for the Frontlines podcast! Shaun Haney is joined by Jacob Shapiro of Cognitive Investments, to tackle the top geopolitical issues impacting agriculture. Up for discussion in this episode: Skirmish in the Red Sea — the U.S. is working to stop Iran-backed Houthi attacks in the shipping lane Logistics are definitely impacted, but is… Read More
The Bank of Canada considers several economic factors each month as it decides on what to do with the overnight rate. The overnight rate has risen from 0.5% in March of 2022 to 5% by mid-2023, however the BoC has held firm on the rate for a few months now. Expectations are for a decrease… Read More
Welcome to the latest edition of our new (how long can we call it that?) monthly podcast: “Frontlines — Geopolitics affecting agriculture,” with Shaun Haney of RealAgriculture and Jacob Shapiro, geopolitical analyst with Cognitive Investments and Perch Perspectives. As you would expect, this episode features a discussion on the Israel-Palestine conflict as it continues to… Read More
Big things happen in a big world and yet somehow the grain markets are still transfixed by what number the ProFarmer Tour is likely to come out with on Friday regarding corn production estimates for the U.S. Neil Townsend, Grainfox market analyst, says it’s a bit strange to think that Russia can literally bomb infrastructure… Read More
Can we make it around the world in 27 minutes? We can if it’s a discussion on geopolitical happenings that impact North American agriculture! Settling in for their monthly discussion, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Jacob Shapiro of Cognitive Investments dig in to what the recent Russian attacks on port and logistics infrastructure might mean to… Read More
The current commodity markets are a key economic indicator, and as many are well aware, in the commodity world the key indicator is crude oil. Where crude goes, so does the rest of the commodities, says Errol Anderson, president of ProMarket Communications Inc., based at Calgary, Alta. As things look according to Anderson, there’s a… Read More
Wheat. A mainstay of crop rotations globally and a huge part of the Canadian export market, wheat has not had a great run the last few weeks. To unpack all that’s going on with this market, we go to Brian Voth, founder of Intellifarm Inc., based at Manitoba. First, Voth says we need to check… Read More
It wasn’t that long ago that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government announced it would return to balanced budgets once the pandemic spending was over. Last week’s federal budget is the first real post-pandemic spending plan, and instead of a return to balance, the projected deficit sits at around $40 billion, with no clear indication of… Read More
There’s plenty of uncertainty in 2023 grain markets. The potential for big corn and soybean acres combined with weak economic performance could push prices lower as the year unfolds. But there’s still plenty of profit opportunity, says AgMarket.Net co-founder Jim McCormick. He shared his take on the markets while participating in a market panel at… Read More
The expectation of Canada’s gross domestic product number (GDP) wasn’t great — analysts predicted 1.5% GDP growth in Q4; Farm Credit Canada was slightly more optimistic at 1.7%, but both expectations were off. The GDP growth for Q4 ended up being — wait for it — zero. J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada… Read More
The problem with war is that there’s no way to know, really, what is going to happen. Jacob Shapiro, geopolitical analyst with Cognitive Investments, calls this the “fog of war,” and it creates uncertainty, volatility, and quick shifts in direction that are difficult to plan for. In the podcast and video below, RealAg Radio host… Read More
Rising costs and inflation are a hot topic right now, but what are the overall trends being seen in consumer choices in the long term? Heather Thomson is the executive director at the Alberta School of Business Centre for Cities and Communities and she spoke at the Ag Awareness Summit at Saskatoon last week. Thomson… Read More
The former governor of the Bank of Canada says he expects inflation will drop quicker than many are predicting and that real interest rates will remain low in the long term. Stephen Poloz shared his economic outlook during a keynote presentation at the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Many of the economic parameters that… Read More
Looking back over the past century, economic recessions have more often than not been preceded by a sharp rise in oil prices, as seen in the first half of 2022. Farmers and grain marketers should be looking to the energy market as a leading indicator for where other commodities are headed, according to a market… Read More