The hot topic at the Manitoba Special Crops Symposium was why there are no new-crop contract prices for edible beans yet. With only a few weeks left before decisions have to be made, many farmers were threatening to seed their acres to the big market crops if contract prices don’t appear soon. It’s a situation […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Pintos look like good bet for bean producers
With no new crop contract prices and heavy stocks of some edible beans, the market outlook isn’t promising. But Sean Mackenzie of Fieldcrest International, a special crops marketer, believes a few beans look good to grow. “The sure one at this point is pinto beans,” said Mackenzie, who presented a market outlook at the Manitoba […] Read more
Can organic, conventional producers co-exist?
Conventional and organic livestock producers don’t often go to the same conventions, but recently in Manitoba there has been more talking across the big divide. “There are so few people that understand agriculture, those who do understand it need to be on the same team,” Organic Food Council of Manitoba president Janine Gibson said after […] Read more
Early sow culling may not pay
Producers are jumping the gun when they cull sows, says a Minnesota veterinarian and statistical expert. Many apparently poorly performing sows are better than producers think, and replacement gilts are a more risky proposition than many realize. “We’re not getting the financial return on culling early that we expect,” said Stephanie Rutten-Ramos, who spoke at […] Read more
Needle good tool in hog barns
Farmers are too scared of using the needle to treat almost-finished pigs. They are instead using the shotgun approach with antibiotics if signs of disease appear in their barns, or else killing near-market weight hogs unnecessarily, said veterinarian Mike Sheridan. “I don’t know why they won’t use the needle,” he said. “That’s the one you’ve […] Read more
Off the cliff
Want to see what it looks like when “outside markets” push ag commodities off the cliff? Just look at any of the nearby charts on North American ag commodity exchanges today. (www.cbot.com, www.mgex.com, www.kcbt.com, www.theice.com) Wheat, corn, soybeans opened with a gap down – soybeans especially – and have plummeted since. In Chicago corn is […] Read more
Demand versus production destruction
Japan’s economy shrank at a 12.7 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008. KABOOM!!!!!!!! Oil producers around the world are mothballing facilities, scaling back new projects and putting off necessary maintenance. KABOOM!!!!!!!!!! Which one of these factors is going to have a bigger impact on the world commodity supply and demand balance? That’s […] Read more
Gauging assumptions
At this time everyone’s trying to figure out what producers are going to plant this spring. Farmers themselves are all trying to suss out what everyone else is going to grow, with many wanting to grow something different in the hopes of a future shortage. To figure out what farmers are planning to grow, analysts […] Read more
Here’s the scoop: who’s growing what, where, why – and how it might affect markets – Special Report (main story)
There aren’t any no-brainer crop picks for producers with a little spare acreage this spring. That’s the universal view of advisers contacted by The Western Producer. “There’s nothing to me that’s all thatobvious on either the winner or the loser side,” said Charlie Pearson of Alberta Agriculture. Provincial agriculture departments, grain companies and private analysts […] Read more
Weather big factor in seeding plans
Canadian hard red spring wheat will be the big winner if North Dakota stays wet through the spring, market analysts say. In the fight for acreage between wheat, corn and soybeans, wheat is the most vulnerable to changed plans due to wet soil. “If these conditions persist through the middle of April, then the tendency […] Read more
