Rain proves to be a major setback for many farmers in central and northern parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan
Denis Guindon started seeding on May 11, which is the exact same date he was done last year. Two days after he hopped on the tractor his already soggy farm near Falher, Alta., received 50 millimetres of rain. It shut him down for a week. He got going again on May 21 for a couple […] Read more
Markets

Sunflower acres expected to drop
It’s become a familiar story in Manitoba. If growers have a choice between soybeans and another crop, beans usually win out. Such is the case this spring with sunflowers. Soybeans will set another acreage record and sunflowers will possibly hit the second lowest level ever in the province. Statistics Canada has predicted 50,000 acres of […] Read more
Strong cash prices boosts CME live cattle by 3-cent limit
CHICAGO, June 1 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle settled up their 3.000 cent per pound daily price limit on Thursday, fueled by short-covering following stronger-than-expected cash prices, said traders. Fund buying and futures’ discounts to this week’s cash returns enhanced market gains, they said. June and August closed limit up at 127.425 and […] Read more

European flax sales still not picking up
Russia is a strong contender in the flax market and Canadian industry officials are seeing their exports fall
Canada has not recaptured the European flax market this year as some had predicted. In fact, sales to the EU are down 19 percent so far compared to the previous year, according to Canadian Grain Commission statistics. The belief was that exports to the EU would rise after the European Commission tightened its tolerance level […] Read moreFeedlot placements jump to 14-year high
CHICAGO, May 26 (Reuters) – Feedlots placed 11 percent more cattle on feed in April than a year earlier, the most for the month in 14 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported May 26, beating average forecasts. Feedlots were making money from selling slaughter weight cattle at strong prices and that allowed them to […] Read more
Options offer way to profit from dull market
Farmers probably haven’t been driving their tractors into the ditch with excitement while listening to markets news. It’s been a bit dull, to be honest. Some analysts think this mood might linger into summer unless something big happens. “People want more of a story, but the story is more of the same,” said Neil Townsend, […] Read more
Big soybean potential holds back hope for canola rally
Farmers in the northern part of the Prairies, struggling against wet, cold soils to seed their canola crops, might wonder why the oilseed’s futures appear to be not reacting to the late planting. Conditions are such that the expected 22.4 million seeded canola acres might be scaled back. Also, delays and cool weather now could […] Read more
Canfax report
Fed cattle lower The Canfax weekly weighted average for fed steers was $170.57 per hundredweight, down $3.87 while heifers were down $3.42 to $169.81. Prices fell as the Chicago cattle futures market, the U.S. cash market and U.S. beef prices also all fell. American packers were buying for a short week because of the U.S. […] Read more
WP livestock report
Hogs rise Strong pork exports, reduced market-ready supply and expectations that retailers will feature more pork sales in June lifted hog prices. United States hogs averaged US$71.01 on a carcass basis May 26, up from $70.86 May 19. The U.S. pork cutout was $90.28 per cwt. May 26, up from $87.26 May 19. The estimated […] Read more

VIDEO: Canada’s agricultural markets update – May 31, 2017
D’Arce McMillan, The Western Producer markets editor, monitors trends in the North American and global agricultural markets. Each week he hosts a market video about crops. The video is designed to help viewers understand the forces responsible for changes in the trade. If agricultural markets are important to you, we have you covered.