DES MOINES, Iowa – The rest of 2010 and most of next year are solidly profitable for hog farmers, if they are American, said a leading U.S. hog market analyst.The outlook is less positive for Canadian producers, said Canadian hog farmers and industry officials attending the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, last week.“The […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
The benefits of being a fringe player
While the Canadian prairies look big to us when we drive around them, they’re actually just a fringe of the massive productive crop area of North America. But because they’re an environmental fringe too, with tough weather constrictions limiting farmers, Canadian prairies have forced farmers to be creative, innovative and adventurous with what they grow. […] Read more
Oats keeps going
Other than my discussion of beavers below, I have only this to say today: check out this daily Chicago oats futures chart: That’s a very cool chart, and one that’s going the right direction for farmers. If you’re a farmer who has his oats in and they’re looking good, your life is getting a whole […] Read more
Clever Canadians beavering away
China’s decision to continue to allow Canadian canola restricted access to its markets for another year, and Manitoba weanling pig producers’ ability to continue to find buyers for their pigs, has me thinking of the beaver. Yes, that noble rodent that is our national image and true representative of our collective soul. Let’s consider the […] Read more
Yikes!!!!!!!! Where are we going to get oats?
YIKES!!!!!!! Where are we going to get oats? That’s what the market is saying right now in these charts: That’s a rocketship taking off, and if we have any luck at all, it’ll keep going up and carry the other commodities with it. If there’s going to be any compensation for the rain and the […] Read more
Washed away
It seems like the weather down here in Iowa is similar to that back home on the middle of the prairies. Here’s the parking lot of the World Pork Expo yesterday: I got soaked to the skin. But there the problems ended: I dried off and the crops here can soak this kind of stuff […] Read more
U.S. producers big losers if Korean free trade not ratified: diplomat
Free trade with South Korea means big money for American pig producers, the Korean embassy’s trade specialist told reporters at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday. But failing to ratify the free trade agreement with South Korea, which American and Korean negotiators signed three years ago, could have “nightmarish” consequences for American […] Read more
Race for the peninsula
This morning the number two man in the South Korean embassy in Washington spoke to reporters here at the World Pork Expo, pushing the importance of the Korean-U.S. free trade agreement. That agreement was signed three years ago and would, according to one Iowa State University economist, lead to a gain of U.S. $10 per […] Read more
Rock stars
Wandering around the World Pork Expo gives a visitor the hog industry version of what it must be like wandering around backstage at some big music awards ceremony, like the Grammys: you never know what rock star you’re about to bump into. Now, the hog industry isn’t quite as sexy and exciting as the music […] Read more
One-time centre of grain industry leaves Winnipeg’s Portage & Main
Standing at the intersection of Winnipeg’s Portage and Main, there’s no getting away from signs of how important the city’s commodity exchange has been for more than a century. The first standalone Grain Exchange building, built in 1892, is now the centerpiece of a famous faade restoration that fronts the new Red River College campus. […] Read more
