The darkest days in the flax industry are in the past and the future is looking bright, according to the head of the Flax Council of Canada. There’s excitement surrounding flax, with new and more-diversified demand, stronger prices and a renewed effort to improve agronomic aspects of flax production, says Don Kerr, the new president of the flax industry… Read More
Wheat markets were up about four percent in the post-Canadian Thanksgiving rally as the grain markets all headed higher on quality and harvest progress concerns. That in mind, because of the delayed U.S. harvest, there could still be a lot of grain that doesn’t have a home on the farm and so will be sold… Read More
Farmers of North America is asking the federal government to hold off on privatizing the Canadian Wheat Board to give the Saskatoon-based farmer business alliance more time to pitch its plan for turning CWB into a farmer-owned grain company. FNA has held over 100 farmer meetings across Western Canada over the last month asking farmers… Read More
A creative and patient approach to marketing will be needed to maximize returns on the lower quality crop produced in Western Canada this year, suggests a farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Poor weather during the growing season and at harvest has resulted in a wide range of downgrading factors, including fusarium, mildew, sprouting and frost…. Read More
Bunge is finally starting operations at its new canola processing plant at Altona, Manitoba. “The edible oil refinery is operating and we are testing the crush plant,” confirmed Deb Seidel, a spokesperson for Bunge North America, in an email on Friday. The new facility is designed to process 2,500 metric tonnes per day — more than double the volume of… Read More
There were no major surprises for the corn and soybean markets in the USDA report published on Friday, however the wheat ending stocks projections were lower than the trade was expecting. The smaller stocks, together with funds short-covering, have provided some support to wheat futures over the last week, explains Austin Damiani, commodities broker with Frontier… Read More
Farmers of North America is urgently seeking farmers willing to invest in acquiring a majority stake in CWB (formerly the Canadian Wheat Board.) The “farmer business alliance” has hosted dozens of farmer meetings across Western Canada over the last few weeks — right in the middle of harvest for most potential investors. While the plans that… Read More
Grain prices started the month of October the same way they’ve been trending for the last five months: lower. Last week saw two important reports from the USDA and Statistics Canada, recording grain inventories and ’14 production estimates respectively. With some of the earliest-planted fields of corn and soybeans coming off in the American Midwest,… Read More
While corn, soybean and wheat markets are under pressure from heavy supplies, the outlook for the canola market is relatively tight. Canadian canola production for 2014 was pegged at 14.1 million metric tonnes in the Statistics Canada crop production report published Friday morning — a slight increase from the agency’s August estimates, but below the average… Read More
It’s estimated 70 to 80 percent of the barley grown in Western Canada was affected by heavy rains and snow in early-to-mid September. Factor in the 31 percent decrease in overall barley production estimated by Statistics Canada in its report out Friday morning, and the math is simple; barley that qualifies for malt will be harder to… Read More
After trading at a significant discount to soybeans last year, contrasting production scenarios have resulted in canola gaining value relative to soybeans over the last few months. “Historically canola futures have traded $80, sometimes even $100 higher than soybeans. Last year was exactly the opposite,” explains Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research. “What we’re starting… Read More
The results are in. Wet weather early in the growing season and again during harvest took a toll on the quality of this year’s crop in Western Canada. Mildew is the most common downgrading factor in spring wheat this year, reports Daryl Beswitherick, Manager of Quality Assurance and Reinspection with the Canadian Grain Commission. “Last year,… Read More
The organization representing major grain elevator companies in Western Canada says it believes both Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) have failed to meet weekly grain shipping requirements for extended periods of time since the weekly minimum thresholds were implemented back in March. The federal agriculture minister confirmed last week that the… Read More
Grain prices are in that seasonal rut thanks to #harvest14 selling pressure and favourable planting conditions as South America starts its seeding season. On the speculation side, hedge funds are starting to increase their optimism that grain and oilseed prices will begin to rise. That being said, in the last four decades, an ounce of… Read More
Heading past the halfway point of September, the pace of the North American harvest picked up with excellent weather allowing crops to dry out from late growing-season rains. That being said, the quality of the crop coming off is quite variable with reports of fields next to each other swaying a few grades one way… Read More