Canada might be able to steal a march into the United Kingdom’s sizable, wealthy and quality-conscious market. With the United States under a Joe Biden administration possibly ignoring the opportunity that Brexit opens to his country’s farmers and food companies, and the European Union running the chance of losing some access, Canada is in the […] Read more
Tag Archives Hedge Row — page 3
Resiliency is a great idea, until you have to pay for it
Other than “unprecedented,” the term “resiliency” has been the biggest buzzword of the pandemic — at least in agriculture. I doubt I’ve taken part in a webinar, Zoom call or online press conference since March without the term being used prominently repeatedly. Resiliency is a hot concept right now, but what does it really mean? […] Read more
Several layers of imperfect measures can offer more comprehensive protection
Swiss cheese is suddenly relevant again. It’s a stinky substance that is just as relevant to COVID-19 control as it is to agricultural risk management. No, the cheese doesn’t fight the virus itself, although that’s the kind of thing United States President Donald Trump might believe. It’s a metaphor for the way risk management can […] Read more
More self-interest in U.S., China would favour Canada
Canada’s best hope for better agricultural trade comes from the United States and China becoming more self-interested. That’s likely to happen in the U.S. now that Donald Trump appears to be heading for the political scrap heap, and we can hope it’ll happen as China recognizes the disaster its recent belligerent behaviour with so many […] Read more
Canada struggles to redefine its role in new world order
What’s Canada’s situation in the world? That’s a tough question to answer these days. It ain’t what it used to be. The easiest thing in the world right now is to talk about the daunting challenges facing Canada, focusing on the complexities of the Canada-United States, Canada-China and Canada-European Union relationships. I hear a lot […] Read more
Harvest canola rally could pose threat to risk management
It’s great to see canola prices soar. Or rather, it’s great to see canola prices soar if you have canola and if you haven’t already priced it all at lower prices. The counter-seasonal rally is certainly an epic aberration from normal patterns to watch, and for those with unpriced canola, it’s an early Christmas present. […] Read more
Canada can do business with China despite the yelling
You might have noticed that China is tightening the screws on Australia, telling Chinese importers to avoid buying Australian cotton. You might have heard China’s ambassador to Canada last week seeming to threaten Canadians living in Hong Kong if Canada accepts political refugees from the former British colony. Did you notice that Canada’s exports to […] Read more
Options are neglected tool in managing marketing risk
Option contracts are getting a lot of attention these days — for all the wrong reasons. They have been massively used and abused, often to disastrous results, by the hordes of homebound, overconfident young men idled by the pandemic, who flocked to trading platforms like Robinhood to make overnight riches. Many of them put everything […] Read more
Federal help needed to stop farmers becoming losers
Canadian farmers aren’t supposed to be the agricultural world’s losers. But they could become that if Ottawa and the provinces don’t step up to give them the level playing field they need. If other countries are going to back their farmers with money, inflicting damage to the global price structure for crops and meat, Canada […] Read more
Canada needs to adopt a new approach to the EU: URGENCY!
With all the frustration and abuse coming from Canada’s fraught trading relationship with China, it was easy to forget all about the third anniversary of the Canada-European Union trade deal (CETA) last week. But when Canada’s agriculture and food exporters turned their attention to that quieter relationship, it wasn’t with any joy. Nor were many […] Read more
