The JBS Food Canada plant in Brooks, Alta., has recalled 38,406 pounds of boneless beef that did not go through the re-inspection process when it was exported to the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the recall notice July 30 on the “boneless beef head meat products,” which were in raw, frozen form. […] Read more
Markets — page 325
Palm and crude’s oilseed support might have plateaued
There is potential for strong canola yields this year if the weather holds and the same can be said of United States soybean yields and yet oilseed futures edged a little higher last week. The most obvious reason for the modest price strength was the strong export sales of U.S. soybeans to China during the […] Read more
Grain stocks low as demand increases
Carryout expected to be 4.5 to seven million tonnes at the end of the crop year, down from last year’s 9.37 million tonnes
Western Canada’s grain sector is heading into the new crop year with lower-than-usual old crop supplies and strong new crop demand, according to industry officials. Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp., is forecasting somewhere between 4.5 and seven million tonnes of grain, oilseed, pulse and special crops carryout in Western Canada when the current crop […] Read more
U.S.-based hog prices part of problem: report
Hog producers say the mechanism used to determine prices in Western Canada ignores regional supply and demand
Western Canadian hog pricing is so broken it not only doesn’t reflect supply and demand for pigs but is actually sending the opposite signals that that laws of supply and demand should dictate. It’s such a critical, multi-cause failure that if it is not corrected soon, malfunctioning prairie hog prices could cause the whole industry […] Read moreProducers deserve better from their federal government
Be conservative and plan on 2020-21 prices of US$3.20 per bushel corn and $8.50 soybeans. That was the advice of University of Illinois farm management specialist Gary Schnitkey when talking to Midwestern and Great Plains farmers in late July. If you can make it on those prices you should be OK if you get a […] Read more
Honey prices continue to defy domestic market signals
Industry says the flow of fake honey into this country has reduced prices paid to producers and distorted honey market
From 2016-19, honey prices in Western Canada ranged from $1.25 to $1.65 per pound. That’s significantly lower than 2014 and other periods in the early 2010s, when Canadian beekeepers received more than $2 per lb. for their honey. The weak prices have been a challenge for prairie beekeepers because the cost of production (buying queens, […] Read moreFinancial statements help take a good look at farm profit
I would be in the group that believes that you shouldn’t try to manage by looking in the rear-view mirror. Farming is next year country. There is a lot about “next year” that we can, though, understand by examining past performance. We all have things that we would like to have had a second chance […] Read more
Soy price unfazed by ending stocks
Unimpressive China sales, big Brazilian prospects blamed for lower futures despite lower-than-expected ending stocks
The soybean market continues to wait for sustained heavy buying out of China, says an analyst. Some in the trade feel the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2.05 billion bushel export forecast for 2020-21 could be low if China lives up to its Phase 1 agreement commitments. But so far there is no indication that Chinese […] Read more
Monsoon bodes well for Indian pulse crop
Farmers have gotten off to an early start seeding the summer crop, and higher-than-normal rainfall is welcome news
Farmers in India are planting the 2020-21 kharif (summer) pulse crop at a torrid pace. They had sown 20.17 million acres as of July 17 compared to 15.24 million acres a year ago and 18.27 million acres two years ago. “Kharif seeding is way ahead of the normal pace,” G. Chandrashekhar, a commodities market specialist […] Read more
Biden would change trade policy if elected president
Much can happen before the November United States presidential election but at this point the vast majority of polls show a win for Joe Biden so let’s peak into what that might mean for agriculture on both sides of the border. Biden’s campaign website has a page devoted to the Democratic nominee’s plan for rural […] Read more
