As the stock market plunged again early Oct. 10, most crop prices followed. Corn and soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade both locked limit-down, meaning trading was stopped and prices were not allowed to go any lower. But wheat, while tumbling, did not go limit-down. That could be a big deal, said Chicago-based […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
The big, fat cushion
On Wednesday morning there seems to be little to be excited or depressed about in the main commodity markets. Prices first fell and then recovered a bit. These crazy days, who knows where the market’s going to be at the end of the day. It would probably shock and disgust Canadian farmers to hear someone […] Read more
End of the affair?
It can get pretty ugly when relationships break down, but one that appears to be falling apart right now could give farmers a chance to celebrate in the future, even if it’s providing heartbreak in the present. Here on Tuesday morning agricultural commodities are not enjoying the same explosive rally that world stock markets, including […] Read more
NDP takes Winnipeg, mourns rural losses
NDP MP Pat Martin’s big challenge wasn’t beating his political opponents. They stood little chance in this NDP stronghold of Winnipeg Centre. The challenge he set for himself was to get 50 percent of the total votes cast, a feat he was teetering on the edge of achieving late Tuesday night. Not only did Martin […] Read more
Feds need to work on solving ag problems
Farmers need the federal government to get to work on agricultural problems, say the leaders of prairie farm organizations. But farm leaders from Manitoba and Alberta are split on whether they believe the new Conservative minority government will be able to get the work done. “It would be nice if we’d had a majority, one […] Read more
Farmers fret over market meltdown
Rob Brunel has a rotten choice to make. Does he lock in today’s crop prices on his near-dated basis contracts, or does he wait the few days remaining in the hope that markets will rebound instead of plunging lower? On Oct. 6, as the pace of collapsing crop prices increased, the farmer from Ste. Rose, […] Read more
Man. aims to cut emissions of greenhouse gas from soil
When the public thinks about greenhouse gas emissions from farming, images of flatulent and belching cows seem to come first to mind. But farm fields have been doing a one-cheek-sneak of greenhouse gases since farming began, leaking unnecessary gas into the environment. It’s the kind of silent but deadly loss of expensive fertilizer that farmers […] Read more
Deck stacked against prices
Supply and demand figures mean little to grain and oilseed markets because of the financial meltdown, analysts say. “All of these fundamentals don’t matter a hoot in this market right now,” said John Duvenaud of the Wild Oats markets newsletter. “It’s all trading on outside factors.” However, when agricultural commodity prices stop dropping along with […] Read more
Tight credit threatens to strangle grain demand
Canadian farmers haven’t yet seen sales scuttled by the credit crisis, but marketers are keeping a keen watch for trouble. And while there are no reports of cancelled or lost sales, there are disquieting rumours. “We’re hearing about problems (in the international grain trade) with customers getting letters of credit,” said Bruce Burnett, head of […] Read more
Volatile markets make for tough decisions – Hedge Row
“May you live in interesting times.” It’s an ancient Chinese curse that sometimes makes people wonder: what’s so bad about interesting? Well, for farmers living through the past 12 months, interesting has also meant enriching, delightful, frustrating and depressing. Farmers who didn’t price their 2007 crop until the first half of this summer experienced only […] Read more
