It’s probably inappropriate – and unwise – for me to note this, but I’ve been enjoying watching the equity and commodity markets for the past couple of days. In case you haven’t been following them too, here’s what the equity markets have been doing: up, up , up, DOWN, down, down. That’s right, the market’s […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Falling loonie boosts canola futures
A falling Canadian dollar helped hold up canola for most of Tuesday in defiance of weak overnight Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed prices and allowed canola to seem stronger than U.S. soybeans, which suffered early session weakness due to falling soy oil prices. July canola futures at the ICE Canada Futures exchange closed at […] Read more
Lloving Lloyd
I’ve gotta say I’ve been loving Lloyd Blankfein lately. He’s the Goldman Sachs boss who’s been appearing before the American Congress and doing a series of media interviews in the last week, trying to defend, preserve and protect his firm’s reputation. (Well, perhaps “renovate” is a better term for what he’s doing about their reputation, […] Read more
Consulting service buys soil test lab
It’s easy to demand that farmers take more care with fertilizer and manure application. However, it’s hard to make them do it successfully if they don’t know how to read a soil test, don’t know how to interpret the results and don’t know how to change their farming practices. That’s why Manitoba government officials are […] Read more
Farmers frustrated at Nexera situation
Farmers’ frustration is building over contracted Nexera canola that Louis Dreyfus Canada has refused to accept for delivery since November. But the company says it has plans to take all the contracted canola before the end of this crop year so that farmers don’t have bin space problems at harvest. “Essentially, we’re going to take […] Read more
Spring wheat top choice after canola
Farmers plan to boost their acres of money-losing spring wheat by a lot more than they plan to increase acres of money-making canola, according to Statistics Canada. However, analysts say the numbers aren’t as wacky as they may sound. Farmers are planting the maximum they can of canola, while the spring wheat increase comes at […] Read more
Canada’s strength lies in understanding the needs of its customer base, says expert
The sensitivities of people in other countries may sometimes seem like annoying impediments to trade, says the head of Canada Pork International. However, Jacques Pomerleau recently told the Manitoba Pork Council annual meeting that they are also key marketing advantages for Canadian hog producers. He said Canada’s industry is better designed to meet foreign buyers’ […] Read more
Farmers urged to adapt, rather than fight rules
Farmers need to protect themselves from the implications of proposed ochratoxin A (OTA) standards by embracing new practices rather than fighting reasonable rules, says a senior researcher. “We can make it work,” said Carleton University professor David Miller. “We not only could catch up (to Europe, where OTA is harshly viewed), but we could get […] Read more
Fungus fears could increase cost of producing grain
Many in the grain industry are worried about tough new standards that Health Canada is considering for a common grain fungus. The new standards could cause some wheat to be rejected from the food system and impose millions of dollars of costs on farmers. However, even though ochratoxin A (OTA) can be toxic at high […] Read more
The customer’s always right, but doesn’t always know what he wants
I just listened to a presentation during a gala luncheon of the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association from the Manitoba Egg Producers. It was all about the pressures of consumer demands for increased animal welfare and brought out to me the point that the consumer’s always right, but the consumer doesn’t always know what […] Read more
