Markets
Market analysts say conducting the survey four months ago in the middle of winter reduced its usefulness to the industry
Statistics Canada is coming under heavy criticism for its new methodology of gauging farmers’ seeding intentions. The agency surveyed 9,500 farmers between Dec. 12, 2022, and Jan. 14, 2023. “This was the first time seeding intentions were collected in December. Traditionally, seeding intentions have been collected in March,” it said in the April 26 report. […] Read more
Markets
Uncertainty throws cold water on organic market
Producers who came in when prices were high are now leaving the business; some say sector has lost one million acres
There is plenty of uncertainty in the organic market, and processors are hesitant to do much forward contracting of crops.
Profitability has been squeezed but situation not terrible
If the world remains more concerned about a recession than it does about hunger and higher food prices, farmers might have to wait through some glum months of disappointing prices and high costs until there’s better profitability.
But if those tightening stocks keep getting tighter, farmers’ profitability situation might get brighter in a hurry.
Global supply-demand environment keeps traders relaxed
Crop markets have been falling of late because of slow demand and generally favourable weather around the world. I’ll first cover the factors weighing down prices and later note the spots with production issues that could support prices. The cool spring in grain production areas of Canada and the United States has slowed field work […] Read more
Flooding stops Mississippi River barge traffic
Closures that could last for weeks will force grain and fertilizer shippers to find more costly transportation alternatives
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted barge traffic across a wide swath of the upper Mississippi River, it said April 27, as record winter snowfall is melting and flooding into waterways. The closures will force grain and fertilizer shippers to find alternative, potentially more costly, transportation by truck or rail, […] Read moreWP livestock report
Hogs The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts was not available for April 28, but on April 21 it was $$53.64. U.S. hogs averaged $71.67 on a carcass basis April 28, down from $66.02 April 21. The U.S. pork cutout was $81.32 per hundredweight April 28, up from $80.43 April 21. The […] Read more
Canfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. Fed prices down slightly Alberta direct cattle sales saw dressed prices steady to $2 per hundredweight higher […] Read more
Wheat market reacts to rain in U.S. Plains
Industry officials are flummoxed by recent wheat market behaviour. Hard Red Winter Wheat (HRWW) July futures tumbled 16 percent between April 18 and May 2. The freefall was due in part to a two-day rain during the last week of April that delivered up to 100 millimetres of moisture to parts of the U.S. Southern […] Read more
EU likely in market for Canadian durum
The vast majority of the European Union’s durum imports come from North America, with a little bit sprinkled in from Russia and Kazakhstan.
Federal workers back at work; CRA staff still out
A tentative agreement was reached for the bargaining groups representing more than 120,000 workers on the weekend.
