Grain markets took another hit this past week as elevated trade tensions on Friday topped some of the more bullish ProFarmer crop tour results. On Friday, China announced that they would institute another US$75 billion in import tariffs on U.S. goods, including another five per cent tariff on soybeans to take the total tariff to… Read More
We now know the terms of dairy farmers’ compensation: each Canadian will give $46 each to dairy farmers over the next 8 years while paying exorbitant retail prices for many dairy products. Eggs and poultry are coming next. And don’t hold your breath because more money given to dairy farmers won’t change much of anything… Read More
Grain markets in the second half of this week battled to recoup its losses from the first half after the USDA said there was way more corn planted and its yields would be better, basically contradicting everything that the market was expecting. The biggest surprise from the USDA on Monday was acres. Everyone and their… Read More
Grain markets had a tough turn of the calendar from July to August, as the complex dealt with a couple of factors that pushed it lower. From a performance standpoint, corn prices lost about seven per cent for the month of July, while soybean and hard red spring wheat prices basically ended July where they… Read More
Grain markets turned lower for the second straight week as the complex prices in some better weather and the impact that trade war payments might have on the bottom lines of U.S. farmers. For Mother Nature, expectations are that August weather for the Midwest will bring more hot, dry conditions, which should certainly get the… Read More
Grain markets ended the week lower as the complex saw selling on some better weather and growing conditions for a North American crop that continues to be behind in terms of development. If it wasn’t for a good rally on Friday, we would’ve seen an even further departure on the futures board than what you’re… Read More
Grain markets found some strength in the second week of July as the monthly report from USDA showed average U.S. soybean yields falling by one bushel per acre to 48.5. The lower yield meant production was felled by 375 million bushels, which obviously helped soybeans find a bid. Follow-on support for other crops and stronger… Read More
In a shortened week of trading due to Canada Day and the Fourth of July in America, trading volume was light and the oilseeds complex saw the worst performance, highlighted by soybeans dropping almost 2% on Friday alone, mainly attributed to the ongoing trade dispute with China and big stockpiles revealed last Friday by the… Read More
Grain markets ended the month of June mostly in the red as the complex was dealt a heavy-handed bearish report on Friday in terms of acres planted in the United States. Since the collection of information for the June acreage report is from June 10th, intentions from that date and what’s happened since then might… Read More
It seemed like a rare opportunity to bring agriculture to the fore when, in 2014, the United Nations’ General Assembly declared it to be the International Year of Family Farming. At the time, it said the declaration was to “raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farming by focusing world attention on its significant role in eradicating hunger… Read More
Grain prices gained a lot of ground this week as the complex was supported by a bullish WASDE report from the USDA and wet weather from Mother Nature. In contrast to last week, the hard red spring wheat ticker in Minneapolis was the only one in red this week. On the flip-side, corn and winter… Read More
Yet another undercover animal abuse video rolled out last week, filmed months ago by animal rights “activists,” and released just as tweets and photos celebrating June as Dairy Month began. In the same week, mainstream media published several stories following up on what many farmers had brought forward at the Standing Committee on Agriculture: that… Read More
Public speaking. For you 4-H-ers out there, you’ve probably competed in an agricultural-based public speaking competition before, whether it was to your excitement, or you were doing it because it was mandatory in your district. Growing up outside of the 4-H sphere, and not living in a big centre, these were skills I didn’t really… Read More
The first full week of trading in June was highly volatile for the grain markets, as the complex whipsawed around on continued planting concerns (namely Prevent Plant corn acres), weather forecasts, and fresh trade issues. Simply put, there are a lot of factors impacting the market and that’s why we saw some wild intraday swings… Read More
To end the month of May, grain prices took a bit of a hit on the last trading day of the month, with most crops on the futures board seeing double-digit losses. The complex was still able to squeak out some gains for the week (as shown below). Put simply, all those traders who were… Read More