Prices have fallen $20 per tonne or more since the beginning of August, from around $220 per tonne to $195-$200
Farmers don’t usually smile when prices fall, but in southern Alberta it’s hard to not be cheery when the crop looks so good. “It’s a pretty normal year,” said Jim Beusekom, president of Lethbridge-based Market Place Commodities, with obvious relief when asked about local conditions. “We’re so used to the abnormal, to having droughts or […] Read moreMarkets — page 322
Export demand heats up for Canada’s new barley crop
Grain companies are capitalizing on a good domestic crop and Australia’s trade troubles with China to step up exports
Earlier this summer, Canada’s grain companies said they hoped to hit the export markets with strong sales of Canadian barley. With a great crop maturing and being harvested across most of Western Canada and a prime competitor cut off from China, they’re getting a perfect chance to fulfil those hopes. “They’re definitely bidding against us,” […] Read more
Don’t let the Green agenda trump the Growth agenda
Chrystia Freeland has a tough balancing act ahead of her and farmers should hope she succeeds. As the new finance minister, she must deliver on her Liberal party’s and her prime minister’s desire to create a formidable “Green” legacy, while protecting this country’s ability to do business, to produce goods and services at world-competitive costs, […] Read more
La Nina likelihood increases, posing risk in South America
National weather services around the world are firming up forecasts for a La Nina to develop this fall and last through the Northern Hemisphere winter. La Ninas in the fall-winter season tend to deliver wet weather to Australia and dry weather to the United States hard red winter wheat belt in the southern plains. La […] Read more
Gene editing boosts canola oil levels in U.S.
The announcement increases worries that Canadian plant breeding will fall behind because of tougher regulations
Yield 10 Bioscience, a U.S. company, is developing new canola varieties that have higher oil content and improved yields. That’s not massive news. Many companies are working on new and improved canola varieties. The difference is that Yield 10 is using genome editing to breed new types of canola. It’s a technology where scientists precisely […] Read moreWP livestock report
Hogs The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts was $32.66 Aug 21, down from $34.15 Aug 14. U.S. hogs averaged $40.20 on a carcass basis Aug 21, up from $37.60 Aug 14. The U.S. pork cutout was $73.51 per hundredweight Aug 21, down from $74.93 Aug 14. The estimated U.S. weekly slaughter […] 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 trend higher Fed cattle prices have generally been in a slight uptrend for the past […] Read more
Bumper crop? Not so fast, say some farmers
A prolonged heat wave has prevented cereal and canola crops from filling seed heads and pods, say crop watchers
Jim Doerksen scoffs at reports that a bumper crop is on the way for the Canadian Prairies. At one point he thought that was going to be the case on his son’s farm near Dalmeny, Sask. but a late-July/early-August heat wave has sapped yield potential and quality. “It had a terrific start but the last […] Read more
Speculation rife on corn-buying spree
Just as China’s temporary corn reserves are about to evaporate there are signs that the ruling Communist Party is thinking about rebuilding the stockpile, says an analyst. Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist with StoneX Group, said COVID-19 has the Chinese government considering hording the crop again and returning to its former policy of self-sufficiency in […] Read more
EU ban on palm oil could be canola boon
The pending ban is being challenged by the main palm oil-producing nations and could get ‘watered down’
Opinions differ on whether the European Union’s pending ban on palm oil-based biodiesel represents a big market opportunity for Canadian canola exporters. In January, the European Parliament voted to ban the use of palm oil biodiesel by 2030 because it leads to deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia. Palm oil biodiesel production will be capped at […] Read more
