Prairie farmers need another profitable crop for their rotations to relieve the pressure on canola to pay the bills. Hemp might be that crop. Canada legalized the recreational use of cannabis a year ago, unleashing a torrent of investment and news coverage, but for broadacre farmers, that is important only in that it also added […] Read more
Markets — page 338

Canada’s relationship with China not dead
With a heavy November snow falling, smiles were everywhere. Chilly weather wasn’t enough to cool the optimism that gripped a group of Canadian farmers’ international representatives as they shared delicacies made from Canadian beef, pork, canola, grain and other prairie farm products in a park in central Winnipeg. These political, government, industry and farmer reps […] 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. Strong market ahead Fed steers averaged $147.01 per hundredweight last week, down slightly from the previous week, […] Read more
WP livestock report
Hogs The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts was $35.46 per hundredweight Nov. 22, up from $34.35 on Nov. 15. U.S. hogs averaged $41.91 on a carcass basis Nov. 22, up from $42.73 Nov. 15. The U.S. pork cutout was $83.07 per cwt. Nov. 22, down from $88.13 Nov. 15. The estimated […] Read more

CBOT soybeans/corn stuck waiting on trade news
Winnipeg (MarketsFarm) – Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade remain in a holding pattern, waiting for concrete news on ongoing negotiations between the United States and China. Activity during the last week of November was slowing down as traders moved to the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, with attention […] Read more

CN, union reach deal to end strike
MONTREAL (Reuters) — Teamsters Canada and Canadian National Railway say they reached a tentative deal to end a strike at the country’s largest railroad that had entered its eighth day, disrupting supply chains across the country. “We have a deal,” a CN spokesman said. The union said normal operations will resume tomorrow morning across Canada. […] Read more

Strong feed barley exports lift price
The new CPTPP trade deal and production troubles in Australia help prices in Western Canada buck a global trend
Feed barley prices are holding up nicely in Western Canada despite a global glut of the crop, say industry officials. Prices in southern Alberta are about $200 per tonne. That is down from the summer peak of $290 per tonne, which was expected because this is the post-harvest low period. However, it is well above […] Read more
Analyst sounds alarm over soybean carryout estimate
USDA accused of overestimating soymeal demand in China, which when eventually corrected could lower oilseed prices
Soybeans and related oilseeds could eventually be in for a big downward price adjustment because of an accounting error, says an industry analyst. Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist with INTL FCStone, believes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s world ending stocks estimate for the crop is way too low. The USDA is forecasting 95 million tonnes […] Read more
Bold action needed to revive food processing sector
Excitement rippled through Western Canada’s agricultural industry in recent years as pulse processing plants were announced and construction proceeded. But when it comes to high-value product manufacturing using pulse protein, such as veggie burgers, the investment has been mostly in the United States. This could be a further example of how Canada’s business, regulatory and […] Read more

Farmers have many reasons for ignoring expert advice
Why do farmers often ignore expert advice? That’s a question that buzzes around in many experts’ minds as they spend years and decades urging farmers to follow various types of well-informed, well-grounded advice and then see farmers generally not follow that advice. You hear it occasionally in crop marketing and hedging circles, where advisers and […] Read more