Dan Klymchuk wants to capture water as it pours into the ocean and then pump it back up over the centre of North America all the way to Texas. It might sound crazy, but the researcher says what’s crazy is allowing trillions of litres of fresh water to pour into the ocean while other parts […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Ag commodities in same roller coaster cart as stock prices – Hedge Row
Three times a day the Blackberry on my hip buzzes as a commodities market report drops into it. For the past few months, I’ve been able to make a simple assumption: if Chicago corn, wheat and soybeans are all up, or all down, the equity markets will have moved the same way. Almost always my […] Read more
Railways confident high performance repeatable
Canada’s two national railways think they can keep up 2008-09’s impressive grain shipping performance, grain transportation experts say. “Certainly our goal is to make sure it is sustainable,” said Murray Hamilton of Canadian Pacific Railway at the Fields on Wheels conference in Winnipeg. “I really do like to think that we have made sustainable differences […] Read more
Federal funding promotes export program for Canadian malting barley
Canada is pushing its malting barley into growing markets, say the federal government and malting barley promoters. Canada has a reputation for quality and technical support and that will be helped by $400,000 from the federal government’s AgriMarketing program, said the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre’s managing director at an announcement. It will allow CMBTC […] Read more
Market analysts split on outlook
Leading American crop market analysts are split on the 2010 outlook for the big three – corn, soybeans and wheat. Year-ahead outlook sessions presented Dec. 15 and 17 revealed the crop outlook to be muddied by huge overhanging issues that dramatically influence crop prices but are hard to peg. PFG Best grains analyst Tim Hannagan […] Read more
Firm’s foray into oat storage keeps contracts viable
People love to hate hedge funds, but oat growers are getting used to loving one hedge fund that has thrown a lifeline to their industry. At the recent Prairie Oat Growers Convention in Brandon, Riverland Agriculture president Don Grambsch took the lid off of Whitebox Commodity Holdings Corp., and explained why the company thought oat […] Read more
Source of GM flax remains a mystery
Flax farmers have lost lots of money because of Triffid’s unexpected presence in the prairie crop, but where it came from is still an unanswered question. That disgusted one Manitoba farmer at the Manitoba Seed Growers Association’s Genetic Expo event in Winnipeg Dec. 9. “I do not believe that somebody doesn’t know where it came […] Read more
IP grain systems expensive to operate
Like children looking at toy displays in stores, farmers, grain companies and food processors get excited about the potential for identity-preserved shipments. But like a budget wise parent trying to moderate their child’s expectations from Santa at Christmas, grain transportation analyst Mark Hemmers cautioned the Fields on Wheels conference about the costs of IP. “Don’t […] Read more
Light Christmas reading
Christmas is a great time to sit down in a comfy chair, undo the belt buckle, let your turkey-stuffed belly hang out and read a worthy book or two. So at this festive time of the year, I’ll make a couple of recommendations of markets-themed books that may not be as light, crumbly and delicious […] Read more
Low-Fi and nearby
Question: What do High-Fi stereos, complex computer and internet systems, and grain terminals in Poland and Mexico have in common? Answer: They all seemed like the pathway to the future at one time. Question: What do Ipods, smartphones and old elevators in the U.S. Midwest have in common? Answer: They became, or seem likely to […] Read more
