It is important for growers to recognize the difference between the run-up in wheat prices and what is happening with corn, soybeans and canola, says the head of one of Canada’s largest grain companies. Wheat futures temporarily hit $9 US per bushel last week. Soybeans have also crested that mark and canola was trading in […] Read more
Markets — page 920
Demand-fueled rallies last longer
Soaring loonie helps U.S. swine producers
As the pig production industry approaches the sometimes frightful fourth quarter, American farmers aren’t that grim-faced. That’s because they are resting on a comfy buffer, one that Canadian farmers spent years resting on. “We’re pretty pleased with the currency situation,” said University of Missouri hog industry analyst Ron Plain, laughing. “It makes a very big […] Read more
Western Producer Livestock Report
Loonie staggers fed cattle The soaring Canadian dollar kept the fed cattle market under pressure last week, said Canfax. Steers were $82 to $83 per hundredweight live and $133.25 to $138.30 on the rail with the weekly average price coming in at $82.51. That was $1.81 lower than the week before. Heifers were $80 to […] Read more
Ottawa slow to act on initial price hike
Farmers need not be told wheat initial payments come nowhere near reflecting the current value of their crop. Nor does the Canadian Wheat Board, which asked the federal government more than a month ago to increase those initial payments. Despite the huge price discrepancy, and the board’s request, the federal government has yet to act […] Read more
Tight world situation overshadows Cdn stocks
The grain market uses numbers and statistics as fuel. It’s a flex-fuel engine, however, with prices sometimes propelled with interesting and unusual numbers rather than the big ones. That appears to be the case at the moment for some prairie crops, with canola and oat prices stronger than one might expect in the face of […] Read more
Tough to get every penny out of wheat markets
What will the peak of the wheat market look like? The frustrating answer is that you will only be able to recognize it after it has occurred, and prices are lower. That’s the eternal frustration of the farmer and every other seller who wants to sell his crop at the top. By the time you […] Read more
Canadian rye crop often gets forgotten
Higher prices could lead to higher acreage for one of the Prairie’s lowest profile crops. Rye prices are nearly double what they were a year ago at this time, something industry officials say should result in more rye going into the ground this fall. When harvest began some weeks ago, prices for quality rye were […] Read more
Is the biofuel boom on shaky ground? – Market Watch
Our reporter Sean Pratt has just completed a report that is a cautionary tale for Canadians who want to build biofuel plants. In the report that will appear soon in the paper, he writes that reduced tax incentives are troubling Europe’s biofuel industry. The report was fresh in my mind as I read the U.S. […] Read more
Grain buyers keep buying despite rising prices
Grain buyers around the world are howling over rising prices. But while most buyers complain, few appear able to walk away from the table. “That’s pretty limited,” said Gord Flaten, the head of the Canadian Wheat Board’s sales department. “There are some who are looking at their cost of inputs and making changes (but) there […] Read more
Western Producer Livestock Report
Fed cattle prices drop The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted rules for entry of older Canadian cattle. Trade in older cattle could resume by Nov. 16. Fed cattle prices fell last week as packers struggled with lower beef prices and weak margins, but there was a slight recovery late in the week, said Canfax. […] Read more
