U.S. soybean yields and ending stocks will be larger than the trade was expecting, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October supply/demand report. Based on the reaction in the futures market, the USDA’s October numbers, released Tuesday, were bearish for soybeans, somewhat bearish for corn, and bullish for wheat. The average American soybean yield… Read More
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
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
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
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
Both of Canada’s major railways say they moved a record amount of grain during the 2020-21 crop year, which wrapped up on July 31. CN Rail says it moved just over 31 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products in hopper cars, exceeding its previous record of 29.4 million tonnes set in the… Read More
Summer is generally a time when the pulse markets go through a bit of a lull, but it’s always good to know what might happen in the markets come harvest. Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research says that both farmers and buyers are sitting on the sidelines at this time of year, especially with widespread… Read More
Update, as of July 14: Both CN and CP once again halted traffic in the area around Lytton, B.C. on Wednesday due to new fires east of the community. “For the safety of our crews, we are not currently running trains between Kamloops and Lytton, B.C.,” says CN in a network update distributed July 14…. Read More
The USDA projected tighter-than-expected wheat supplies for the 2021-22 crop year in its July World Agricultural Supply/Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released on Monday. Most of the other key figures in the report for the big three crops — corn, soy, and wheat — were in line with expectations, with yield projections left unchanged from June…. Read More
The federal transport minister has issued an order requiring Canada’s two main railways — Canadian National and Canadian Pacific — to implement a set of measures aimed at preventing further wildfires in southern B.C. and other parts of the country where fire risk is high. Minister Omar Alghabra issued the ministerial order on Sunday, following… Read More
Statistics Canada released its updated acreage estimates for 2021 on Tuesday morning, most of which were in line with expectations. Most notably, StatsCan boosted its canola acreage estimate to 22.48 million acres, up from 21.53 million in its April acreage report. Year-over-year, that’s an 8.2 per cent increase in canola acres, largely driven by strong… Read More