Grain markets found some legs this week as snow and freezing temperatures started to hit the majority of North America’s major growing regions. A few other highlights include indicators that a U.S.-China trade war resolution may be found, as well as the October WASDE report, which was supportive of soybeans but bearish for corn and… Read More
Grain markets ended the week mostly in the green, thanks to a somewhat bullish U.S. quarterly stocks report, an expansion of the ethanol mandate and some challenging harvest weather. On Monday, the USDA served up its report for grain inventories in the U.S. as of September 1st, 2019. Going into the report, the market was… Read More
The 43rd federal election is less than three weeks away, and the chair of Soy Canada is wondering why agriculture hasn’t been brought up more during election debates. There’s a multitude of issues to be brought up, yet no party seems to really be keeping a close eye on farmers. In particular, Soy Canada chair,… Read More
The ag leaders debate on Tuesday night was a very entertaining two hours featuring lots of banter, blame, wild statements, and the frequent mention of climate change. The Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, and Green Party all had the chance to outline their respective party’s agricultural agenda for farmers across the country. But on that point, the… Read More
Weather has always been an external uncontrollable factor for farmers across the world. Besides having plants in a greenhouse, weather impacts all of us in terms of agronomy, the markets, and the food we buy at the store. Lately, all of this unpredictable weather has reminded some of us that we can be the victims;… Read More
Grain markets ended the third week September rather mixed as trade and export disappointments dragged down corn and soybean prices while wheat found gains on quality concerns. For corn, U.S. 2019/20 exports are tracking about 37 per cent behind last pace through this week, while China cancelled its farm visits, intuitively fading in optimism for… Read More
There comes a time when you’re scrolling through the Internet and find someone saying something a little out of line. Who am I kidding, this happens probably every hour on Twitter alone. This past week I came across one of those posts, but instead of it being an internet troll that hides behind their computer… Read More
Grain markets this week found some gains (finally) as Mother Nature and updated Harvest 2019 estimates catalyzed traders to bid up the lows we’ve been on lately. Soybean prices in Chicago were buoyed by a drop in production by the USDA in their September WASDE report, but also fresh news of China buying at least… Read More
Grain prices started the month of September much like they finished August: tumbling lower. December corn prices made new contract lows on bearish yield and production estimates from private firms. This prompted wheat markets to follow corn lower. Allendale, INTL FC Stone, and Informa all shared updated yield estimates this past week, and since they… Read More
Canada’s relationship with China is complicated — it involves extradition, unlawful retribution arrests, non-tariff barriers, fake CFIA documents, and a spying telecom company. In the months since the recall of former Canadian ambassador to China John McCallum, the agriculture industry has been waiting very impatiently for a new ambassador. Agriculture’s hope has been that a… Read More
This week finalized a tumultuous month for grain markets with China, weather, and crop conditions owning the headlines. While most grain prices on the futures board were able to find some gains for the week, it was a bearish month for the complex. As the table below shows, wheat and corn prices took the hardest… Read More
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