CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) – Heat and mould may reduce the quality of an already small soft red winter wheat crop in the eastern U.S. Midwest.Farmers planted record-low SRW wheat acres in several U.S. states, including Ohio, where constant rain allowed mould to thrive, and Illinois, where hot temperatures in recent weeks have stunted growth of […] Read more
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U.S. soft red wheat quality, yields dip
Tight U.S. seeding report drives up prices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture added some planks to the floor under crop prices with recent reports, but whether that floor is strong enough to let prices leap isn’t yet clear, analysts say.“The trade has been given a very fundamentally supportive report and the market’s job will be to follow through,” said independent grain market […] Read more
Ontario farmers see money in solar energy
RIDGETOWN, Ont. – Ontario farmers and other investors are hot on solar.Don Hilborn, engineer with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, isn’t surprised. He said the potential for 11 percent return on investment is within reach.“I understand there are more than 13,000 applications, mainly out of rural Ontario.”Hilborn, along with Swiss engineer Thomas Bohni and Hydro […] Read more
Noxious weed seed ban threatens major canaryseed market
Canadian canaryseed shipments to its top market are in limbo and trade is completely disrupted by a Mexican ban on noxious weed seeds, industry players say.“It’s kind of shutting everything down,” said Robert Lafond, a trader with Roy Legumex, July 5.The situation was unclear, with industry members planning a July 6 industry-only conference call and […] Read more
Monsanto profit falls as Roundup demand dwindles
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) – Monsanto reported a 45 percent drop in quarterly net income as the global seed leader’s Roundup herbicide business continued to struggle, sending its shares down as much as 4.3 percent.Company officials, who called 2010 a “challenging year,” said while they saw a five percent jump in net sales of seeds […] Read more
Economic woes dampen grain rally prospects
Market confidence that the world would produce lots of crops again this year is eroding as weather problems pop up around the globe.But the price support these problems should generate is muted by the weaker than expected performance of the world’s major economies.In late spring, the market attitude was that the world would be awash […] Read more
Organic growers start work share garden program
DOG POUND, Alta. – After 100 years on the same patch of farmland, the Buckler family decided it was time to try something different.In 2005, siblings Charlie, Tim and Helen built a market garden 24 kilometres north of Cochrane, Alta., on land great-grandfather David Buckler homesteaded in 1905.His address was General Delivery, Dog Pound, Northwest […] Read more
China struggles to meet demand
BEIJING (Reuters) – China faces a formidable task in meeting demand for grains such as rice, wheat and corn in the next decade, said agriculture minister Han Changfu.Han said China’s urbanization and rising living standards would push national grain demand to more than 572.5 million tonnes by 2020.Last year, it harvested a record 530.82 million […] Read more
Bilateral deals keep Canada in the game
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – More two-party trade agreements between Canada and other countries suit the Canadian Wheat Board just fine.However Margaret Wiebe, director of strategic planning at the CWB, said that doesn’t mean a successful multilateral agreement, such as between World Trade Organization members, is undesirable.She said the board would like to see a WTO […] Read more
Farm exporters refocus attention on South Korea
Prairie farmers might feel flushed with victory now that Colombia is open to their crops and meat, but there’s no time to lie back on their laurels, say commodity group leaders.The gains from the small victory in getting free trade with Colombia could be reversed by massive losses if other countries get free trade with […] Read more
