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.
Markets
-C$ posts a 4-month high on GDP data, weaker greenback
TORONTO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar notched a four-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday after domestic data showed the economy expanded more than expected in November and the greenback tumbled against a basket of major currencies. The U.S. dollar index slumped below the 100.00 threshold after comments by U.S. President Donald […] Read more
Hogs jump on pork gains; USDA shows bigger cattle herd
CHICAGO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures surged 3 percent to a seven-month high on Tuesday as rising pork and cash hog prices triggered investment fund and chart-based futures buying, traders and analysts said. CME live and feeder cattle futures fell to multi-week lows, pressured by ample cattle supplies. The U.S. […] Read more
Canada to seed more canola, less grain in 2017: Ag Canada
Winnipeg, Jan. 30 (CNS Canada) – Canadian farmers are expected to seed more canola but less wheat and barley in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to the first supply-demand estimates from Agriculture Canada for 2017-18 (Aug-Jul). Total area seeded to all crops is expected to rise slightly, due to a decrease in summerfallow, […] Read more
Canola falls with soybeans
Canola fell Monday as soybeans, soybean meal and soybean oil all fell. That reflected weakness almost everywhere, as all crop futures fell and most commodities weakened. It was also a poor day in the equity markets, with stocks selling off on a risk-off day. Spring wheat fell alongside the winter wheat contracts. Only metals rose […] Read more
Cattle fall most in 3 weeks on bigger U.S. placements
CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) – U.S. live cattle futures notched their biggest losses in about three weeks on Monday in a sell-off triggered by government data showing larger numbers of cattle placed on feed in December, traders said. Both live and feeder cattle futures fell to their lowest since Jan. 9 as investors liquidated long […] Read more
Canola barely changed on the week, soy oil under pressure
Canola futures fell for a third straight day, weighed down by falling soy oil and commercial hedging. It generally was a down day in the crop markets with only soy meal edging higher. Chicago and Kansas winter wheat contracts fell more than one percent. Minneapolis spring wheat also fell, but the decline was not a […] Read more
CME live cattle futures sag before USDA report
CHICAGO, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled weaker on Friday ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle-On-Feed report at 2 p.m. CST (2000 GMT), said traders. Analysts, on average, expect the report to show 8.4 percent more cattle were placed into U.S. feedlots in December than a year […] Read more
Canola crush margins tumble
Winnipeg, Jan. 26 (CNS Canada) – Canola crush margins dropped by more than $30 per tonne over the past two weeks, which may be putting a damper on end user demand. As of Jan. 26, the Canola Board Crush Margins calculated by ICE Futures Canada were at about C$100 above the March contract, which compares […] Read more

Inadequate capacity hurts canola meal sales
BRANDON — Export deals and money are falling through the Canadian canola industry’s hands because of inadequate canola meal handling capacity on the West Coast, says Thomas Mielke of Oil World magazine. It’s something farmers shouldn’t put up with. “You should scream,” Thomas Mielke told a crowd at Manitoba Ag Days Jan. 17. “There is demand […] Read more