Hog farmers might have to make a leap of faith into the open housing system in the near future if a worldwide movement to ban gestating sow crates is successful. But a leading Netherlands-based hog breeding stock and production company said it can be economically viable. “Group housing is not more difficult or more easy […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Tight rules on manure may force farmers out
GLENLEA, Man. – Manitoba government regulations restricting phosphorus will slash the amount of hog manure producers can apply to land, and that will make some operations unviable, says a leading researcher. “If you’re giving away your manure to your neighbour and then spending $50 per acre to buy nitrogen for your crops, that really changes […] Read more
CWB cautious about recent wheat rally
Canadian Wheat Board officials were smiling about the wheat market but fretting about crop tardiness as they summed up the outlook for the 2010 crop on July 30. “We’ll have to see if this is buying the rumour,” said CWB chief executive officer Ian White about the surge in hard red spring wheat futures prices, […] Read more
Board plans to confront government on directors
The Canadian Wheat Board intends to confront the federal government this fall with a demand that government- appointed directors butt out of most decisions, board chair Allen Oberg said at the CWB 2009-10 crop year wrap-up. “What I’m hearing from farmers is they want more control over their own democracy and they want clearer rules […] Read more
Breakthrough extends flax oil’s shelf life
Cargill thinks it has solved the problem that is keeping flax oil out of millions of consumers’ diets. And it thinks its biggest challenge has been solving the scientific question of how to make flax oil stable in consumer products, rather than convincing consumers to buy flax-laced food. “The consumer is looking to add omega […] Read more
Mediocrity in the field
When’s mediocrity a good thing? When the word describes this year’s prairie field crops, that’s when. And that’s what the Canadian Wheat Board thinks is coming this fall – if frost doesn’t nip it early. The board did its year-end shindig this morning and gave its current estimate of the prairie wheat and barley crops. […] Read more
Weather woes start weighing on markets
Weather problems in the former Soviet Union aren’t big enough to substantially change the large world wheat stockpile. However, they are big enough to shove the market off its complacent bearishness about wheat availability, which has allowed wheat to close its gap to corn and soybeans. “Instead of us having the expectation that world wheat […] Read more
Canola shows resilience but frost worries loom
Pencils are being sharpened down to nubs and erasers rubbed down to nothing as analysts try to predict the size of the canola crop. “It’s going to be really, really tough to peg this thing,” said Jon Driedger of FarmLink Marketing Solutions, whose firm estimates a 9.7 million tonne crop. “We’ll probably be revising ours […] Read more
Softening Viterra stiffens suddenly
What’s up with Viterra this week? Take a look at this five-day chart of its stock price: That’s a nice little run-up in price. And it’s even more impressive when you look all the way back to the start of this 2010th year of our lord: It’s been a pretty straight slide down this year […] Read more
Wheat’s sentimental journey
It’s amazing how an event can send positive sentiments surging. I remember the lift I got when I arrived in London in 1985 for a summer holiday with my parents on the day that Live Aid was being held. I dropped my suitcase off at Uncle John’s, ran for the tube station, got to Wembley, […] Read more
