Markets love a story. There’s always a story in the markets, making the otherwise dull and arcane task of endlessly looking at numbers and charts mean something bigger, something more tangible. So traders, analysts and professional yackers like me look around to find stories in the markets to explain their cruel and kind ways. There […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Good rep and a lucrative niche market
I met a few minutes ago with two Asian food industry journalists and, as always when I meet overseas customers of Canadian crops, I come away relieved that Canada has a good reputation for quality product and intimidated about how closely they watch their suppliers and analyze our products. They are on a cross-country tour […] Read more
Low and lower
Wheat futures continue their sickening slide down, dragging prices to two year lows and making farmers in Western Canada – who have bigger and better crops than they expected just a few weeks ago – grimace in pain. If you have already locked in prices through Canadian Wheat Board Producer Payment Options you’re feeling a […] Read more
More potent fusarium spreads
Farmers might have to make sure that fusarium damage levels in their wheat are even lower than they are now because of a new strain that is spreading widely. The Canadian Grain Commission is considering lowering the levels of damaged kernels allowed because the new fusarium strain is producing more vomitoxin than the one that […] Read more
U.S. hog surplus weighs on prices
American farmers are only slightly reducing their sow numbers, dragging out the current crisis until at least next summer, analysts say. The three percent year-on-year decline in sow numbers reported in the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarterly Hogs and Pigs report was slightly higher than most trade expectations, but it wasn’t a big enough surprise […] Read more
Big benefits with flax oil
All fatty acids are not the same, according to the reproductive system of cows. And that’s why adding flax oil to dairy cow diets can increase their fertility and health, according to a Quebec researcher. “Flax can act directly on reproductive tissues,” said Helene Petit in a presentation to feed industry experts at the Western […] Read more
Better diet for environment
Many nutritional experts believe nitrogen and phosphorus and a range of greenhouse gases can be significantly cut out of livestock production. That would remove an environmental knife at the throat of livestock producers. “If it is applied across the board, you will see a marked reduction of phosphorus and nitrogen, both in ruminants and monogastrics,” […] Read more
Chill wind
This morning I left my hotel in downtown Saskatoon and trudged through the leafy streets of Saskatoon towards the headquarters of The Western Producer. It’s the time of our annual editorial conference, so our reporters from Ottawa, Brandon, Regina, Calgary and Camrose have all descended on the Bridge City for two days of discussions with […] Read more
More potent fusarium spreads across Prairies
Farmers may face tougher fusarium damage standards, the Canadian Grain Commission says. A more toxic form of fusarium graminearum has been spreading across the Prairies and replacing the older form. In Manitoba, 68 percent of fusarium samples examined by the commission in 2007 contained the new type of fusarium. Fusarium graminearum damages the head of […] Read more
Ironic weakness in flax markets
A colleague of mine told me Thursday that even with all the brouhaha over genetically modified flax appearing in Europe, buyers are still buying flax. So there’s still a market there, albeit one with a big black cloud over it. Is another shoe to drop? Or will the one on the chest of the flax […] Read more
