No one can predict how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, but a huge focus on social and physical distancing has been effective, at least in part, to “flattening the curve” of infection and critical illness. Tracking on an inverse curve is the local and global economy. Right now uncertainty, social distancing, and shuttered businesses… Read More
Many industries are struggling to cope with COVID-19, but in agriculture farmers still have to plant. Today (March 31, 2020) the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its 2020 planting intentions report. Canadian farmers are watching this report very closely as the U.S. corn and soybean acreage — and possible carryout — impacts Canadian… Read More
Grain markets found green again to end the last full trading week of March as capital inflows into the space and demand for essential foodstuffs remains strong. That said, only wheat had a positive day on Friday as the rest of the complex and broader equity markets saw a sell-off. The Canadian Loonie finished the… Read More
Just two short weeks ago, no one was really sure what was ahead for the COVID-19 virus lockdown and social distancing — but now cities are ghost towns, and grocery store shelves and coolers are suspiciously absent of some key items; beef, pork, and chicken among them. A flurry of retail buying may have emptied… Read More
We are just ending Q1 of 2020 and it is already a year to remember for generations. As we attempt to deal with COVID-19, governments are also trying to be aware of the economic future. Like you, this COVID-19 outbreak has impacted my family and business. Graduation has been cancelled, baseball season is in jeopardy,… Read More
On Friday (March 27), the Bank of Canada initiated an emergency key rate cut of 50 bps to 0.25% in an attempt to defend the economy against the impacts of COVID-19. Additionally, the Bank of Canada will expand its balance sheet through purchases of Government of Canada securities to the tune of $5 billion per… Read More
Whether it is the drop in oil prices due to a major spat between Russia and Saudi Arabia or the COVID-19 outbreak, the ethanol industry is dealing with massive challenges in the short term. Ethanol plants in Canada and the U.S. are reportedly scaling back production as a result, which is creating concern for corn… Read More
If you don’t have diesel pre-purchased yet, when do you pull the trigger? In light of the current demand situation — hey there, global pandemic — one analyst says it may be prudent to hold off for a bit. Let’s start with demand. Without a doubt, the global response to COVID-19 is having a huge… Read More
Grain markets were mixed to end the third week of March with oilseeds and wheat finding strong gains near its end while corn and oats couldn’t recover deep losses earlier in the week. In the broader markets, U.S. stocks had their worst week since 2008, with the Dow losing 17.3 per cent, the S&P 500… Read More
It seems like with the current state of the world, no one is short on questions; and fertilizer supply is no exception. Mike Lowery, Canadian sales manager for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and Jake Niederer, director of sales and marketing for ADM, joined RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney to discuss the current fertilizer market across… Read More
While the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything in modern-day history, commodity markets are — perhaps surprisingly — adjusting and adapting to the global market sell-off. In this interview (recorded Thursday, so keep that in mind on quoted numbers), RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney and Brian Voth with IntelliFarm break down what’s going on in the… Read More
The Bank of Canada took a step to attempt to soften the blow of COVID-19 on the economy by dropping its key rate by another 50 bps to 0.75 per cent — the second cut in as many weeks. The Bank of Canada also took additional measures with banker acceptances to keep the short term… Read More
Grain markets ended the second week of March in the red as the complex sold-off alongside oil and equities as panic-selling was the only trend to speak of. Corn and wheat futures were able to rebound a bit on Friday, but May soybeans fell to new contract lows on demand fears and some better weather… Read More
What a week. Frankly, the last week and even two weeks has been wild enough — let alone the last 24 hours — as the impact of COVID-19 makes its way into North American travel bans, the stock market, oil prices, the Canadian dollar and more. The volatility has been extreme. Anne Wasko, of the… Read More
For many of the commodity futures in meats and grains, it has been a very rough two weeks of panic selling in response to coronavirus economic impacts. The sell-off has not been isolated to agricultural commodities, as the equity market in the U.S. is now officially in a bear market and down 20% off of… Read More