In the past couple of weeks I’ve been at a couple of conferences in totally different agricultural industries that revealed that international ag trade is getting more and more and more difficult. And this – perhaps counter-intuitively – is more and more and more fortunate for prairie farmers. It’s not always the case, but it […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Seeding intentions lift canola
Canola futures moved higher Monday following Statistics Canada’s finding that farmers’ planned canola acreage increase was on the lower end of expectations. May canola closed at $382.80 per tonne, up $3.40. July was up $3.90 to $389.80, and new crop prices rose as well. November canola rose $2.80 to $392.30. The Statistics Canada report did […] Read more
They told you so
Analysts I spoke to a couple of weeks ago for a story about today’s Statistics Canada seeding intentions report told me 1) canola acreage wouldn’t go up as much as you might expect; and 2) wheat would be unloved but still planted. Looking at today’s report, they were right. Canola acreage is up 4.4 percent. […] Read more
Obama’s Obashing Wall Street
Today U.S. President Barack Obama is going to get up behind a podium and castigate Wall Street for being greedy and shortsighted. He’ll defend his administration’s timid attempts at slightly regulating the financial industry more tightly. No doubt people on Fox News and other parts of the right wing Looneysphere will express outrage and rage […] Read more
U.S. study sees GM as more pro than con
Agricultural economists aren’t surprised that a U.S. scientific study has found genetically modified crops are good for both farmers’ bottom lines and the environment. “To me, you really have to look hard to find the bad news (about GM crops),” said Al Mussel of the University of Guelph’s George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont. “We […] Read more
Planning helps avoid farm accidents
Sheldon Wiebe didn’t see the accident that turned him into a farm safety crusader. But that small mercy wasn’t shared by one of his farm workers, who witnessed his own seven-year-old daughter’s arm getting caught and crushed in a potato conveyer belt. “He had to stand right there beside her. It was traumatic,” said Wiebe, […] Read more
Market loses winter concerns over unharvested corn problem
Whatever happened to the danger of rot hiding inside the millions of acres of unharvested corn standing in American farmers’ fields all winter? The answer can be seen in the corn futures market charts: the danger dribbled away until only a puddle remains. “It’s not an issue,” said Joe Victor of Allendale, Inc., who was […] Read more
Shipment’s limbo state shows problems exporting flax to EU
Terry James is stuck with a load of flax in a European port that tested positive for Triffid. The Richardson International executive couldn’t move it into the European market, so he tried selling it to a secondary market such as Egypt or Turkey. However, European regulations require buyers of products that are rejected by the […] Read more
Absence makes heart grow fonder for canola variety testing
Rather than killing independent canola variety testing, the collapse of this year’s tests appears to be boosting the demand to make them bigger and better. Variety developers and farmers say widespread farmer outrage proves that the tests are wanted and worthwhile. “We appreciate the growers’ reaction to this situation because it demonstrates to us in […] Read more
Crop consultants develop high-tech testing laboratory
Wade Barnes and Curtis MacKinnon have come a long way since they sold fertilizer in Pilot Mound, Man., a few years ago. At the time, they would have laughed at the idea that they would some day own a high-tech lab and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for robots. However, that’s exactly what the […] Read more
