Anyone remember Charles Erwin Wilson? He’s the guy who (sort of) said “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country.” (It was a longer, more involved sentence, but the gist we remember is true to its intent.) Well, here’s something that looks a bit like the chart version of that view in prairie […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Sucks to be wheat
Today’s not a great day, if you’re wheat. Your value just dropped about 12 cents per bushel. That’s the biggest big crop result from today’s USDA report in a bad way. U.S. all wheat ending stocks are estimated at 43 million bushels above what USDA thought last month, and new crop wheat stocks should be […] Read more
Canary in a hat mine
This canaryseed imbroglio has me madder than a hatter with twice the blood-mercury level. Mexico is blocking canaryseed imports from Canada over apparent concerns about noxious weed seeds. Apparently the concern is that some Canadian canaryseed seeds got planted and up bloomed some nasty weeds. I’ve heard wild buckwheat named as a particularly unwanted weedy […] Read more
Tight U.S. seeding report drives up prices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture added some planks to the floor under crop prices with recent reports, but whether that floor is strong enough to let prices leap isn’t yet clear, analysts say.“The trade has been given a very fundamentally supportive report and the market’s job will be to follow through,” said independent grain market […] Read more
Noxious weed seed ban threatens major canaryseed market
Canadian canaryseed shipments to its top market are in limbo and trade is completely disrupted by a Mexican ban on noxious weed seeds, industry players say.“It’s kind of shutting everything down,” said Robert Lafond, a trader with Roy Legumex, July 5.The situation was unclear, with industry members planning a July 6 industry-only conference call and […] Read more
Farm exporters refocus attention on South Korea
Prairie farmers might feel flushed with victory now that Colombia is open to their crops and meat, but there’s no time to lie back on their laurels, say commodity group leaders.The gains from the small victory in getting free trade with Colombia could be reversed by massive losses if other countries get free trade with […] Read more
Canola exporters confident of adequate supply
With so much land planned for canola going unseeded, there is concern whether there will be enough canola to sell to all the hard-won canola buyers.“We may actually be OK,” said Dave Hickling of the Canola Council of Canada.“We certainly don’t want to see regular customers that have been buying canola for years not being […] Read more
Stressed farmers encouraged to ask for help
A farm where the weeds are getting out of control, the yard’s a mess or the livestock are looking bad could be red flags for farmers in distress.Mental health experts are encouraging farmers to check on neighbours if something seems odd, because thousands of farmers across the Prairies are feeling stressed and some might be […] Read more
The rain in Spain – so what if it’s mainly on the plain?
Conditions in Spain and Germany are going to radically change in about eight hours time: one’s going to experience euphoric celebration; the other’s going to suffer ignominious defeat. It all depends what happens in their World Cup semifinal matchup this (Wednesday) afternoon. I’m going to view this as a competition between financially profligate southern Europe […] Read more
Canada Dazed
Quick – someone come down to the bustling Winnipeg bureau of The Western Producer and give me a slap in the head. The onset of hot temperatures, tornado warnings, Canada Day, a royal visit and a mosquito-free weekend appears to have made me stupider than usual. In fact, I can hardly remember last week’s USDA […] Read more
