Corn futures, the backbone of the grain market, last week hit the highest point since the summer of 2014. These were lifted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reducing its estimate of corn seeded area and yield, as well as expectations that further cuts will come. Details of the report and speculation on how more […] Read more
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April trade figures show China has hurt canola exports
We are starting to get numbers on how several issues are affecting Canada-China trade now that Statistics Canada released the April trade numbers. That was the month when China’s restrictions on imports of Canadian canola fully hit home. It was also the month when China’s problems with African swine fever really began to affect its […] Read more
Prairie drought adding to producers’ crop weather woes
Could this be the year that drives down those burdensome global grain stocks that keep crop prices low? Early signs indicate substantially reduced production but demand problems associated with African swine fever sweeping Asia and trade barriers also must be considered. In recent years there have been pockets of weather problems, but not large enough […] Read more
U.S. aid plan could influence planting decisions
The contrast between drought worries in Western Canada and rain-caused planting delays in the United States Midwest continued last week. A new topic also entered market discussion: the US$14.5 billion trade mitigation farm aid package and speculation how it would affect American farmers’ seeding plans. Normally, by the end of May, many U.S. farmers pack […] Read more
Rain this week could sink U.S. farmers’ seeding plans
The news on agricultural trade was miserable last week with the United States and China ending talks and instituting new tariffs but prices of major grains all bounced up a little from recent lows. The reason was equally miserable news about planting delays in the U.S. due to wet, cold weather in the Midwest. While […] Read more
Canada’s trade prospects with China deteriorate further
Normally a hopeful time of year, this spring seeding season is full of worry because insufficient rain has fallen in much of the Canadian Prairies and markets remain roiled by trade issues with China. The trade picture became more crazy last week with the United States-China trade talks faltering and the U.S. imposing new tariffs […] Read more
Burdensome stocks weigh heavily on crop markets
China’s expanding trade restrictions are a serious situation that deserves the spotlight but growers must also understand there are additional reasons for the drop in crop prices in recent months. The market was not “buying acres” this spring, focusing instead on the prospect of large stocks-to-use ratios. That fact gets lost as every few days […] Read more
China has big impact but don’t ignore food processors
What are the connections between falling Canadian soybean acreage, a Rabobank analysis of the impact of African swine fever in China, strong beef exports to Asia, and reports by Food and Consumer Products of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce on impediments to food industry sustainability and competitiveness? For the purposes of this column […] Read more
Markets subdued as producers begin spring seeding
Following a dry winter, most of the Canadian Prairies could do with a good rain but many American producers wish for drier weather. Long range forecasts show potential for rain on the Prairies at the end of this month or early May. Meanwhile, moisture south of the border has been of the frozen type. A […] Read more
Prairie producers need wider range of profitable crops
Our trade troubles with China and India highlight the need not only to diversify markets but to also diversify the prairie portfolio of profitable crops. Canola is celebrated as the bill payer in Western Canada, the one major crop that usually generates a healthy profit while others are grown only as a necessary part of […] Read more
