Hemp was knocked low this year in Europe. But next year it should get better, a European hemp industry expert said during the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance convention in Winnipeg. Wheat especially diverted planned hemp acreage this year after wheat and canola prices soared last autumn and hemp prices fell behind. “The best profit was […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Will hemp replace tobacco?
When Quebec tobacco farmers got smoked by globalization, they decided they wouldn’t just butt out of specialty crops. A number are trying to light up their futures with hemp, an ideal crop on sandy soil. “Hemp is quite a viable possibility to replace tobacco,” said Christian Boisjoly, a Quebec farmer and president of a local […] Read more
After the skid, a bounce?
Most crop futures prices have stopped tumbling, it’s safe to say after a month of relative stability. The main North American crop commodity prices have been trading within a range since mid-October, which is a much better situation than faced by people counting on oil prices. Oil prices have continued their downfall, dropping from over-$80 […] Read more
Soupy sales
Campbell’s soup is making a lot of sales this year: today it projected that its 2009 earnings will rise by five to seven percent, which is above its long term growth plans from three to four percent growth, after rising by three percent in the most recent financial quarter. That has both good and bad […] Read more
Ugly
Wanna see an ugly chart? Look at today’s Chicago Board of Trade electronic soybeans intraday chart. It shows a gap-down, which means it opened below yesterday’s close and failed to make up that ground during the day. That’s often seen as significant by technical analysts for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it can mean – […] Read more
Outlook for organic hemp slow but steady
With volatility making marketing a fretful experience for farmers, hemp growers are happy to have dull, predictable prices. “It has much more stable prices,” said organic hemp grower Larry Marshall of Shellbrook, Sask. “You don’t get those highs you see in the other crops, but you really don’t get the lows.” Conventional hemp producer Don […] Read more
Commodities will rise in long term: analyst
Western Producer reporter Ed White is talking to the world’s top market analysts to bring a range of philosophies and insights into the current financial crisis. In this series, the analysts discuss what happened to predictions about the world being in a long-term bull market for commodities and whether the financial crisis changes the long-term […] Read more
Brothers face challenges with gusto
ARBORG, Man. – The Bobbees don’t shy away from a challenge. When you’re living on the edge anyway, why not try things that other farmers wouldn’t dare? That seems to be the operating philosophy of the Bobbee family, who live and farm at the edge of Manitoba’s farmable land in the Interlake region between lakes […] Read more
How about another boot in the head?
In these darkening days of early winter, Nouriel Roubini is making things seem a lot darker. He was on Bloomberg TV this morning, talking once more about the spectre of deflation, which he’s been calling for for years. As readers of our newspaper may have noticed, I am writing a series on the question of […] Read more
Them Rooskies
Wheat prices have fallen from their spring peaks by a plungiful bunch, and the world is beginning to hear pleas for subsidies by creative farmers and exporters. The Russian Grain Union was last week calling for subsidies of up to $60 or $70 per tonne to get their big wheat crop onto the world market. […] Read more
