Rain that has fallen across most of the Canadian Prairies and U.S. Northern Plains is shaking up farmers’ seeding plans, with last minute substitutions occurring as they race to meet crop insurance deadlines.The switch to faster maturing crops might bring bad news for feed grain price outlooks, but benefit the outlook for canola and durum, […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Reliable crusher demand supports canola prices
Canola prices don’t appear strong now, but some economic analysts think the crop has a hidden strength.Farmers will need to decipher price spreads and historical levels in order to see it.”There’s just more of a demand pull and less of a supply push,” said canola analyst Greg Kostal about why basis levels on the Prairies […] Read more
Farmers weigh options after rain wreaks havoc
ROSENORT, Man. – A quarter section on which Thorsten Stanze hopes to grow canola doesn’t look bad from the gravel road.The black soil is damp, with a little bit of trash on the surface, but ready to be seeded. Near the road is a thin strip of what looks like volunteer canola, but it’s the […] Read more
A positive outlook, but not as good when you do the conversion
The generally optimistic and happy atmosphere here at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, wasn’t undermined by the market outlook session I just attended. Steve Meyer of Paragon Economics noted that producers can now lock in profitable margins for the next 15 months, with margins possibly widening in the next couple of months […] Read more
Yum! A feast of renewed confidence
Does this make you hungry? Check out this combination of oak and hickory that’s making these ribs smoky and delicious. The World Pork Expo is a fantasyland of fabulous free BBQ pork. That’s what I’m having for lunch. But the feast I’m going to tell you about here is a happy one: it’s the feast […] Read more
Lurking dangers
In the labyrinthine American congressional legislative system there are many ways that people can slip nasty surprises into the innards of otherwise-unrelated laws. That’s the way, if I recall correctly, that mandatory Country of Origin Labelling was made U.S. law: it was piggybacked onto other legislation. To their credit, the U.S. National Pork Producers Council […] Read more
Mood upbeat at World Pork Expo
DES MOINES, Iowa – Under blue skies and sunshine, many Canadian hog producers were happily wandering the Iowa State Fairgrounds, checking out everything the World Pork Expo tradeshow has to offer.”The future looks very bright and we’re very excited,” said Dawn Oude Voschaar, a purchaser with Hytek, the giant Manitoba hog production and processing company.Andre-Michel […] Read more
Dark clouds lifting?
All through the U.S. Midwest dark clouds have been bringing in bad weather, pounding some areas with thunderstorms and ripping up others with tornadoes. I’m in Des Moines right now, covering the World Pork Expo, and grey clouds and thunderstorms have been haunting the city since I got here last night. An explosive thunderstorm struck […] Read more
Disease once again a concern as World Pork Expo prepares to open
DES MOINES, Iowa – World Pork Expo organizers had been looking forward to a show this year that wouldn’t be plagued by a disease panic after H1N1 disrupted last year’s event.Then a few weeks ago, foot-and-mouth disease broke out in Japan and South Korea, forcing organizers to once again hurriedly investigate biosecurity protocols and examine […] Read more
Betty meets the General
A few minutes ago I was at a rather absurdly named intersection. I was at the corner of Betty Crocker and General Mills. Here’s some photographic proof: It’s not as absurd when you realize that I’ve been driving around the green, leafy campus of General Mills, the giant food corporation that processes so much of […] Read more
