Grain markets ended the week deep in the red as complex dealt with a myriad off bearish factors, capped off by the May 2019 WASDE report from the USDA. Said WASDE report, U.S.-China trade war talks breaking off, and weak U.S. grain export sales was just too much to offset any bullish dynamic from Mother… Read More
Some things are a fad — like fanny packs — whose popularity seems inexplicable, but wanes quickly. A fad, even as terrible as a fanny pack, can and does come full circle, as it is now, but it’s rare that its popularity will stand the test of time. A trend, however, is usually larger, more… Read More
Grain market continue to pull back in the last full week of trading in April as bearish demand and supply issues are keeping the bears in control. For the week, there was some negative positioning of sorts as the bears pushed contracts from the May to the July 2019 contracts on the futures boards. One… Read More
Farmers and ranchers across North America have lobbied hard for the continuation of NAFTA and now the ratification of the USMCA. Ratification, however, seems elusive and is stalled for different reasons in all three signatory countries. One of the major obstructions is the section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs still in place. Canada has temporarily… Read More
Grain prices finished a shortened trading week mostly in the red as the complex continues to ignore some negative weather forecasts on the basis that there’s amply grain stocks and that a crop today can get planted in a very short timeframe. Put another way, the bulls took a breather heading into Easter, with bears… Read More
Grain markets were served up another monthly instalment of the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) this past week by the USDA, but if you didn’t know that, you might’ve missed it. The report came out as mostly expected, which was bearish, and since there weren’t too major surprises in this WASDE report, I’ve… Read More
In March, Richardson International and Viterra’s export permits for China were pulled due to claims of hazardous pests in the samples. In my opinion, it appears that this is a clear shot across the bow for the Canadian government to rectify the Huawei extradition situation or face more trade consequences. The Canola Council of Canada’s… Read More
When it comes to addressing climate change, there is no shortage of money changing hands. Here in Canada, the federal government tacked on a $20/tonne carbon price for Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick after these provinces failed to meet Ottawa’s targets on carbon pricing. Without a “price on pollution” the federal backstop has become… Read More
In terms of export markets, China has been the holy grail for agricultural commodity producers. Whether it’s pork, beef, canola or wheat, the demand that China’s growing middle class offers presents massive opportunities for Canadian farmers. Likewise in the U.S., farmers south of the border have relied heavily on export growth into China as domestic… Read More
By Dr. Sylvain Charlebois With the SNC Lavalin debacle and the subsequent resignation of Liberal politicians, here’s the score so far: two cabinet ministers, one MP, two senior bureaucrats, including the Clerk of the Privy Council Office, and it’s probably not over. The SNC Lavalin case refuses to go away and has been garnering global media… Read More
On Tuesday morning while in Winnipeg, Prime Minister Trudeau stated that “we are looking at the possibility of sending a high level delegation to China.” The Prime Minister is facing stiff criticism from western Canadian farmers for the lack of apparent action and response on the canola matter. This critique will only heighten with the… Read More
Grain markets worked through the third week of March with weather headlines drowning most of the Chinese trade issues in the U.S., but it was the opposite in Canada. In outside markets, global stocks and bond yields fell on Friday as fresh data points have amplified some thinking about a weakening world economy. On Thursday,… Read More
By Cam Dahl I was on a speaker’s panel a few weeks back with a farmer who said he never wanted to hear the word sustainability again. I understand the sentiment but we, as an industry, are going to be hearing that word more and more from customers and consumers around the world. Farmers shy… Read More
The Canadian government needs to start being honest with itself and farmers. Talking a tougher game would be a great start. China has hijacked the Canadian canola industry. Until someone proves to me otherwise I will continue to say that China’s cancellation of a major grain company’s export license is political. Pretending that this is… Read More
Some risks are out of our control, and as we know all too well, weather is a big one in the agricultural industry. However, there are some risks that are actually in our control. Consider the risks that Boeing has dealt with this week. With the crash of the Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia, Boeing… Read More