Rob Saik won’t divulge how much Trimble paid to acquire Agri-Trend, but it’s a safe bet he walked away with more than he had when he founded the company in 1997. “With a Chevette and a soil probe and a $35,000 credit card from the Royal Bank I started Agri-Trend. I had nothing,” he said. […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Urea price at rock bottom, says analyst
Urea prices have dropped as low as they are going to go, according to a fertilizer analyst. “In our opinion, we’re at the bottom of the market,” said Glen Buckley, co-owner of NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service. The price at the Gulf of Mexico late last week was US$252 per short ton. “They have really tanked,” […] Read more
Crop input dealers grow
A collection of independent crop input dealers that recently changed its name could soon be adopting yet another moniker. Grow Community of Independents became United Suppliers Canada Inc. Sept. 1 to reflect its new partnership with a large customer-owned wholesaler of crop input products headquartered in Ames, Iowa. Grow was a network of 17 independent […] Read more
Defaults on flax may spark oversupply
Chinese flax importers are defaulting on shipments, which will result in higher carryout and lower prices, says an exporter. “The buyers aren’t just defaulting on the small guys or the medium guys like myself, they’re defaulting on all the majors, so it’s not a good situation,” said Kevin Price, senior manager with Agrocorp International. He […] Read more
Pulse exports set blistering pace
Pulse crop exports are exceeding last year’s record pace, which has buyers already locking up next year’s crop. Bulk shipments of peas were 1.14 million tonnes through Oct. 23, week 12 of the 2015-16 crop year, which is 16 percent ahead of last year. Bulk lentil shipments were 292,300 tonnes, almost double last year’s pace […] Read more
Railway not to blame for poor Port of Churchill volumes
The 68 percent drop from last year may put the federal program’s $9 per tonne grain shipping subsidy in jeopardy
One thing jumps out at Neil Townsend when he scans the Canadian Grain Commission’s weekly report on grain movement. “What the heck is happening in Churchill?” said the director of G3 Market Research. “We’ve barely exported anything out of Churchill this year.” The port has shipped 144,000 tonnes of grain through the first 11 weeks […] Read more
Crops bigger than StatsCan estimates
Provincial crop reports suggest Statistics Canada will increase yields when it releases its next production estimate Dec. 4. The latest yield estimates from agriculture departments in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are higher for most of the major crops than those contained in Statistics Canada’s Oct. 2 report. The trade has already adjusted prices to reflect […] Read more
Canaryseed yields good, mustard still short
Saskatchewan Agriculture says the province’s canaryseed and mustard crops are much bigger than Statistics Canada is forecasting. Analysts believe that in one case the province is right and in the other it is wrong. In a recent crop report, the provincial government pegged average canaryseed yields at 1,099 pounds per acre and mustard yields at […] Read more
FNA nitrogen plant delayed
Plans to build a farmer-owned fertilizer plant in Saskatchewan are still in the works, but the project has been delayed. “We were probably a victim of our own optimism,” said Bob Friesen, spokesperson for Farmers of North America’s ProjectN. “We had very optimistic timelines, and they have sagged a little bit because the project is […] Read more
California beats Canada on durum
Do not expect a durum price rally anytime soon, say analysts. “The prices are under pressure, and it looks like they’ll continue to be under pressure,” said Neil Townsend, director of G3 market research. He has noticed a disturbing early-season marketing trend: Canada has shipped 455,400 tonnes of durum through week 10 of the 2015-16 […] Read more
