Head shaking over the price of diesel fuel may soon turn into fist shaking. “If today’s price (for oil) holds, on average, from now to the end of the summer, I think we’ll see prices around $1.45 per litre (for diesel),” said Jerry Angevine, senior economist for the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Energy Policy Studies. […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
United States accepts fungicide-treated oats
Oats treated with Headline fungicide can now be exported to the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the use of the fungicide, BASF announced May 6. This is good news for Canadian oat growers, BASF Canada said in a release, because producers can now protect their oat crop without worrying about export […] Read more
Feed company seeks buyer
Ridley Inc., a livestock feed company based in Winnipeg and Mankato, Minn., is officially on the market. Ridley announced May 6 that it is seeking potential buyers for 69 percent of the company’s shares, owned by Ridley Corp. of Australia. Ridley also released that it has contacted interested parties but as of last week had […] Read more
Former CEO enjoys teaching role
Brian Hayward doesn’t miss the politics, but he does miss the people. The former chief executive officer of Agricore United, who left the company last June after it was taken over by Viterra, provides business advice through his consulting firm, Aldare Resources. “It’s worked out beautifully. I didn’t want to go back to having a […] Read more
Wheat price may be near the top – or not
Wheat prices may have maxed out for 2008, if U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts are correct. In its World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) released May 9, the USDA expects the world to produce a record crop of 656 million tonnes. That would be up eight percent from 2007-08 and up five percent from […] Read more
Weather experts watching La Nina’s next move
Weather models indicate La Nina, the weather pattern that typically brings cooler temperatures to Western Canada, is declining in strength. That means it shouldn’t affect the weather in western North America this summer. “They all seem to weaken in the spring, according to the historical records we have,” said Mike Halpert, a meteorologist with the […] Read more
Barley price hinges on livestock recovery
On the surface, it appears the barley market can be summed up by one word: down. Planted acres in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, are expected to be down 14 percent. The number of cattle on feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan is down 13 percent, according to Canfax, and hog numbers are dropping, which means […] Read more
Farmers fret over phosphate
Large increases in phosphate prices are forcing grain farmers to make difficult choices this spring. They either can pay big bucks to apply the same inputs as usual or apply less and depend on phosphorus reserves in the soil to maintain yields. Humphrey Banack, who farms near Round Hill, Alta., still hasn’t decided what he […] Read more
New head at ICE helm
While he recognizes the need to maintain commodity markets as hedging tools, the new boss of ICE Futures Canada says there should be room for all traders in the on-line pit. “We’re always concerned that the contract is working as good as it possibly can. But we also need to recognize that the contracts are […] Read more
Ag activists reject corporate science
Javiera Rulli’s posture quickly changes from a relaxed slouch to a straight back when asked if she is anti-science and opposed to agricultural technology. “In agriculture, science shouldn’t be for market objectives, it should be for feeding the people,” says Rulli, a biologist with BASE-IS, a social research institute in Paraguay. “The problem is the […] Read more
