Editor’s note: This is a guest market column by Dwight Nichol, DLN AgVentures. StatsCan released their July 31st Ending Stocks report for the 2016-17 crop year on Wednesday. This was the third week with new Canadian revisions, and other than minor changes, should finalize crop year 2016-17 Supply and Demand balance. This stocks release is… Read more »
Category: Markets
Who owns all the grain? — This week in the grain market
Grain markets this week were influenced mainly by factors of weather, currency, and harvest pressure. Canola lost 1.4% since last Friday, mainly because of the Canadian Loonie appreciating 1.9% over the same time frame. Oats lost 1.8% while corn and soybeans gained 0.35% and 1.25% respectively. Finally, Minneapolis hard red spring wheat edged up 2.35%,… Read more »
Is this a seasonal slump or something bigger?
Grain markets almost always take a dive as harvest approaches and new supplies hit the market, but the big question for marketing is — will prices rebound or stay at lower levels? “I’ve been doing this for quite a few years and every year I kind of get sucked in a little by it, and… Read more »
Bank of Canada announces earlier-than-expected interest rate hike
The Bank of Canada announced its second interest rate hike in two months, surprising analysts, and raising the target interest rate by one-quarter point to 1 percent. The last interest rate hike was announced in mid-July, and was the first increase the country had seen in over seven years. Many analysts had expected Bank of Canada… Read more »
Finally a bullish report, or was it?
Statistics Canada came out with their first production estimates of the 2017 Canadian crop on Thursday, August 31st. For once, they weren’t bearish! 13,300 Canadian farmers were surveyed between July 19th and August 1st on their acres, yield and total production. However, while the numbers below are considered bullish, there has certainly been some healthy… Read more »
Cargill, McDonald’s & Swiss Chalet to pay producers for beef program participation
McDonald’s, Swiss Chalet and Cargill have committed to funding a pilot project that is designed to pay cattle producers a financial incentive for producing beef that meets verifiable sustainability standards. The “Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration Project” was soft-launched at the recent Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary. It will begin in October, with the first… Read more »
Global cattle herd to see metered growth into 2019
The expansion cycle in the cattle markets can tend to be a bit of a rollercoaster, and it’s not always easy to tell where we are at on that ride. Don Close, animal protein analyst with Rabobank, says in his opinion, the current US cattle market is still on the upward rise. “We think we… Read more »
StatsCan production report: canola and wheat production down but soybeans production up big
StatsCan released its production estimates for principal field crops and not surprisingly the estimated production is down in comparison to 2016. You can find the entire StatsCan report here Here is how some market analysts reacted to the report. There is some doubt as you would expect on some of the numbers released. Brian Voth… Read more »
USDA Cattle on feed report for Aug 1 shows lower placements
On Friday the USDA released its Cattle on Feed report which provided some clarity on the placement number heading into the fall run. Anne Wasko had the following commentary – “Aug 1 U.S. Cattle on Feed Report was called neutral from guesstimates we talked about in Friday’s Beef Market Update. I was actually expecting the… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Cash drops again this week as futures hope to find bottom
Unfortunately cash dropped again this week which is making things frustrating for cattle feeders. In the last three months the December live cattle future is down 7.22% and is 10.52% off of the highs. Cash dropped another three dollars this week after losing five dollars the week before. On Friday, the the December contract closed… Read more »
Pro Farmer predicts 2017 corn and soybean yields slightly below USDA estimates
This week was a very intense week for crop scouts and the Pro Farmer crew led by Chip Flory and Brain Grete. After the USDA caused quite an uproar a couple weeks ago with their August crop estimate report which came in above analysts expectations there was much anticipation for the Farm Journal crop tour…. Read more »
U.S. and Canadian beef groups still clamouring for TPP
Even though NAFTA negotiations are underway, TPP is still vitally important if Canada and the US want to expand exports. President Trump removed the United States from TPP shortly after his inaugaration, which has caused some of the remaining eleven TPP countries to do some soul searching. Canada has been searching for its own identity… Read more »
Release of Ag Canada Supply and Demand Report creates questions for canola
Ag Canada has updated its supply and demand tables for major field crops and there were adjustments that are gaining attention. One of the major adjustments was the canola feed, waste and dockage for canola reported to be (-727,000mt). So what does this negative number actually mean for the canola market? According to John Deputter,… Read more »
Volatility leads the way heading into the thick of the fall run – Brian Perillat, Canfax
As Canadian ranchers and feeders head into the the thick of the fall run there are many variables that come into play. Fluctuations in export demand, the Canadian dollar, futures prices, weather, trade, and feed costs are all hanging over how great of a fall it will be for producers. At the Canadian Beef Industry… Read more »
Interest rate increases coming to Canada and the impact of trade talks on the Canadian economy
The Canadian economy has been healthy as of late, which has many farmers with higher debt levels somewhat concerned about interest rate increases in the near future. Farmers have enjoyed a low interest rate environment for quite some time, but the reality is – the Bank of Canada has some some decisions to make. Additionally… Read more »