Here are some pretty pictures from today’s markets to warm you soul. The U.S. Fed announced yesterday that it really is going to do a big QE2, not a little one, and that’s got everyone piling into commodities today as an inflation hedge, and on the assumption that this QE is going to boost the […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Hog prices chill as snow gathers
The warm glow of optimism has faded from hog producers’ hearts as they face chill winds from two directions. The winter market now looks long and cold, with spring still promising, but with the long range forecast growing colder. “We’re 30 cents (per kilogram) down in the last four weeks,” said Andy Vanessen, a Picture […] Read more
The madness of crowds
I almost spat out my coffee yesterday when I saw Gary Condit on TV again. Actually, I did spit out my coffee when he came on my TV at home, but it was because my 19-month-old ran up and headbutted me in the midsection at that moment, rather than because of the shock of his […] Read more
Uplifting and scary words
As we all get our Lady Gaga outfits ready for Hallowe’en trick-or-treating on Sunday night, the words of market analyst Dennis Smith will leave producers feeling both warm, and scared. That’s a pretty hallowe’eny feeling, because it’s a festival that’s both fun and frightening. Unfortunately for most farmers, Smith’s views will not equally share out […] Read more
Crazy world of QE2
Sometimes this seems a crazy world to me. Especially when it comes to QE2. In fact, when it comes to both QE2s. The first bit of craziness is with Canadian children’s lack of education about that good and noble woman that our true loyalty is rightly bound to as citizens: QE2. Or, Queen Elizabeth II, […] Read more
Canola levels off
Canola ended flat Thursday, after surging early in the session, on a day in which some wheat contracts hit two-year highs.Canola hit $535 per tonne on the Winnipeg November futures contract after opening at $526, but closed at $529.20 for a loss on the day of 80 cents.Traders attributed the mediocrity of prices to flagging […] Read more
Signs point to continuing strength in American corn rally
American analysts think the corn market can run higher, which might keep Canadian crop prices strong. “I just think the long-term corn outlook is bullish,” said Mike Krueger of the Money Farm in Fargo, North Dakota. “I’m in that camp that thinks (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) could trim the yields again in the November […] Read more
Proposals breathe life into feed barley market
You just can’t keep some public markets down. Like zombies, they rip, tear and drag their way out of coffins and stumble across the land, hungry for fresh trading. It may sound Halloween-like, but that’s how the public western Canadian feed barley marketplace appears to me: written off by many as dead, but able to […] Read more
Producers wary of new hog barn design – Special Report – About
The dark, unprofitable years in the hog industry appear to be ending. Economists say Canada’s hog farmers have competitive advantages and will be around for the future. If profitability holds, some farmers will start planning replacement facilities as barns age. However, animal rights and environmental concerns have strong lobbies and they could define what types […] Read more
Researchers study alternative barns – Special Report
Research shows that pregnant sows living in open pens can be as productive as those living in stalls. Research suggests that operating costs of barns with open housed sows are roughly the same as with stalled sows. Research finds that building a new sow barn with electronic feeders and open pens costs about the same […] Read more
