Here’s a pleasant take on what’s going on in the markets, brought to you by the commodities research team at Barclays today in their daily newsletter: THE COMMODITY INVESTOR Q2 deja vu Read the full report » What has in recent years become the traditional Q2 collapse in commodities prices is currently in full swing […] Read more
Tag Archives Ag Finance
One explanation for what’s going on in the markets . . .
In the Euro Night Kitchen
I ran out and bought this book the other day: In the Night Kitchen was one of my childhood favourites and when I heard that Maurice Sendak died, I popped by the local bookseller and snapped up the last copy. It’s a dreamy and hallucinatory story, just like Where the Wild Things Are, his most […] Read more
Relief! Will it last?
What a relief it is to see a bunch of green numbers after the red of Friday and Monday! Which raises the question “Just what happened Friday and Monday?” I called a bunch of analysts yesterday and asked them about that. It’s a hard question to answer, because most crops suffered but oilseeds in […] Read more
Ugly on the charts
So much for the canola party! Oilseeds have taken a rather severe beating in the last week. Here’s the ugliness up close. But don’t worry, or maybe do worry, because it isn’t an overwhelming vote against oilseeds by the world market. Here’s the CRB index of all commodities: The commodity party has been over for […] Read more
Portion of Glencore deal passes muster
The biggest grain industry deal in the history of Canada is one step closer to completion. The Competition Bureau has approved the sale of Viterra to Glencore International. One of the biggest remaining obstacles to the $6.1 billion deal is a vote by Viterra’s shareholders scheduled for May 29. But there are other steps required, […] Read more
Be careful what you ask for; prepare for results
Any time a wish is fulfilled, there are usually unintended consequences. It used to be considered a foregone conclusion that rural areas would steadily decline. With farms getting bigger and requiring fewer people, nothing, it seemed, was going to revive smaller communities. Community-owned hog barns, meat processing plants and other food processing initiatives were attempted […] Read more
Early seeding gets reined in by snow, rain
I was sitting at the kitchen table with my parents last week, talking about the farm, while it poured outside. Enough already, was Dad’s vote. There is more than enough moisture on his land, and he is naturally itching to get into the ground. He’s not alone. Managing editor Mike Raine got rained out when […] Read more
CFIA to change farm input rules
Changes to fertilizer act regulations | Some farm inputs will no longer be regulated for efficacy
The federal government plans to eliminate efficacy testing for fertilizer registration next year. The move is included in proposed changes to the Fertilizers Act regulations and will come into effect April 1, 2013, if approved. The changes would apply to fertilizers and other inputs that aren’t pesticides. “It will be buyer beware,” said Bob Friesen […] Read moreLiberals pounce on report critical of Canada’s inability to feed hungry at home
As Liberal leader Bob Rae sees it, this week’s investigation by a United Nations official into Canada’s record on making sure its citizens have adequate food is a national embarrassment. UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter usually casts his gaze at developing countries and ravaged countries in the midst of […] Read more
Rail legislation needed to keep economy growing
Changes in the railway revenue cap that open the door to much higher grain shipping costs this year re-emphasize the need for legislation to give shippers the right to service agreements with railways. The Canadian Transportation Agency recently announced it would raise the rail revenue cap by 9.5 percent Aug. 1. Farm groups instantly criticized […] Read more
