Last night I met a man whose family is heavily involved in agriculture but he did not grow up in the business so to speak. Recently after a successful career in another industry he decided to take a position within the family business in a senior management role. His comments about the industry were so… Read More
The Canadian Dollar is known as a commodity currency but as of late the European Union financial situation is playing havoc with the Canadian currency. Many feedyard and cattle ranchers are really getting stressed out by how violently the dollar has moved in the recent months. As we have mentioned before on this website, it… Read More
It is amazing how a lack of volatility in today’s feed grain markets almost makes a person nervous. Feeders and farmers don’t seem believe that the corn and barley markets can actually sit still and hold a broad trading range. It really is unbelievable how we have moved from an industry that expected feed prices… Read More
As I mentioned two weeks ago, 2010 is the year of indecision and that continues. On Wednesday the USDA released its 2010 acreage forecast and ending stock report. It is hard to not hear the reports and think that there is a bit of a bearish tone to the all the commodities involved. For example wheat… Read More
At the Syngenta G32 Summit I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Allan Gray from Purdue University. With the increased volatility in the marketplace producers must be much more aware and conscious of the risk dynamics. I have always found that risk is a very difficult topic to discuss because everyone has a different risk profile. What seems risky… Read More
Globally, the barley crop is in flux. For farmers that grow malt barley and feed barley, 2010 does not look like a great year to be growing and marketing barley. Many growers feel the malt premiums are not high enough and the feeding sector is increasing DDG incorporation. In areas like Southern Alberta silage pits… Read More
The weather in the US in the first two months of the year has led to some higher fat cattle prices. This has initiated a little optimism for the fat cattle board in 2010. What is unclear is whether or not this momentum will continue or die off like the Beta tape. One thing that… Read More
The durum market is very ugly for Western Canadian farmers heading into spring. There is an abundance of supply in storage and there is a threat of the supply getting larger this Canadian growing season if acres are not reduced or old crop doesn’t get marketed. Durum traditionally has been a crop that has paid… Read More
The supply demand report was released this week in the United States. The result has been a new found bullish feeling in regards to the corn market. It seems that the volatility in the corn market is going to continue in 2010 based on some of the comments I am hearing from different analysts. with… Read More
One of the great things about attending the NCBA convention is that you get a chance to hear what some of the NCBA analysts an staff have to say about the industry. I was very fortunate to get a chance to talk with Gregg Doud. Gregg Doud is the Chief Economist at the National Cattlemans… Read More
As a farmer you have to deal with many variables that are out of your control. Harvest in North America is almost complete and now farmers are faced with dealing with the commodity markets. Most farmers are no doubt following the grain and oilseed markets on a daily basis but now it becomes more of… Read More
Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks down the recent bounce off the bottom for the cattle market and whether or not she can see this market continuing upward into December and the spring. See Past Beef Market Updates
To say that the currency market is volatile would be quite the understatement. We have seen the USD decrease in value by 15-20% in a very short time period. The economy has been a well discussed topic in the media, in the local coffee shop and in every boardroom of corporate America. The weakness in the US dollar (USD)… Read More
Every stream of media has covered and analyzed the economic turmoil that the globe has experienced over the past twelve months. I have heard more and more that people believe that agriculture is immune to any downturn in the economy. Is there such a thing? Is it possible that agriculture is one of the special… Read More
The US dairy industry is really struggling to survive. Milk prices are depreciated which is causing significant financial hardship. In Canada, this seems to a bit of a foreign concept considering that Canadian dairies are supply managed. The current situation will definitely provide argument from the US to file to WTO and will entice Canadian… Read More
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