Farmers do an amazing job of keeping current on the latest agronomy findings, and many are keen to work on new and improved practices each year. But not everyone loves biology — some prefer the business side of farming and enjoy the time spent analyzing markets and setting up a hedging strategy. Each crop type… Read More

As farmers scratch out last minute changes to seeding plans, economic factors always weigh in. Pulses, like red and green lentils or peas, all have the advantage of nitrogen fixation, making them an attractive crop rotation choice. But pulses are also smaller acreage crops and the marketing dynamics of each crop type can cause some… Read More

It sure is pretty when it flowers and the health benefits of the seed is hard to match, but growing flax can be a tough slog for farmers. It’s not terribly competitive, markets are volatile and the resulting straw is more of a waste product than second income due to limited options in the west…. Read More

Whenever someone mentions risk management in grain marketing, someone also mentions futures, options, puts, calls and, eventually, most people’s eyes glaze over. Anyone who has done a marketing course has also run through a hedging example or five in their education only to find that these tidy examples involving one crop rarely mirror real life…. Read More

It’s been nearly seven months since the Canadian Wheat Board became CWB — a pooling-focused wheat, barley and even canola marketing company operating in an open market. High cash prices since last fall had some expecting the pooling option wouldn’t be very popular, but as Ian White, CEO of CWB explains CWB isn’t just about… Read More

The world almost ended twice in 2012.  Farmers had to beware of the Mayan calendar but also earlier in the year the CWB officially lost it’s monopoly on the sale of wheat in Canada. Some people predicted armageddon, while others believed that the benefits were huge.  Chuck Penner, LeftField Commodity Research talked to me on… Read More

Western Canada is the leader in pulse production but there is some discussion regarding the potential of the Black Sea region to put a dent in Canadian exports. This week I was on the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Regional meeting tour and I heard a very interesting presentation from Marlene Boersch, Mercantile Consulting Venture on the… Read More

Today is potentially a very big day for Western Canadian farmers and the petroleum industry. Ceres Global Ag Corp will be investing heavily in new rail infrastructure to connect Canadian farmers directly to the Texas Gulf and Mexico. A Canadian grain expert (who requested to be kept confidential)  quickly told RealAgriculture.com that, “this would of never… Read More

Statistics Canada released its estimates for 2012 year-end crop stocks today. As of December 31, total stocks of most principal field crops were down compared with the same date in 2011. Corn is the big exception — record yields in 2012 have boosted on-farm stocks. Canola stocks are estimated at 7.4 million tonnes, a 23.6% drop from December 31, 2011. It… Read More

CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) today announced it will transition open outcry trading of Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) hard red winter (HRW) wheat futures and options to its Chicago trading floor beginning Monday, July 1, 2013, pending CFTC review. The company’s release says this transition will accelerate efficiencies and trading opportunities for customers trading both… Read More

 

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