America’s mercurial, combative, antagonistic and games-playing president fancies himself a brilliant negotiator. But I’m betting he’s going to get fleeced by Canada’s dull and diligent trade team, and so successfully that he never even realizes he’s been had. I was just in Washington, D.C., and President Donald Trump’s trade talk is still the talk-of-the-town, which […] Read more
Tag Archives Hedge Row — page 8
Frisky market rally ignores larger reality of oversupply
It was out with the old and in with the new when crop markets rallied on the United States Department of Agriculture’s planting intentions report. But even though we all get frisky in the springtime and want to forget about the dreary old crop hanging over us, that friskiness can distract from reality. Sure, U.S. […] Read more
Canada-EU trade deal more important than ever
A couple years ago, when Canada was working hard to complete the Canada-European Union trade deal, a lot of people within farming and agriculture were skeptical. After all, everybody knew that the Europeans were never going to accept two-way trade, so we were probably just getting played for fools, said many skeptics. A couple of […] Read more
Farmers who eye canola rally should consider price protection
Farmers have been given a gift for this last little bit of pre-seeding. They’ve also been handed a chance for fresh risk, if they’re that sort of guy. It all comes from the canola market rallying about 50 cents a bushel since midwinter, especially in terms of profitability. It comes from a nice little follow-on […] Read more
Market access continuing problem for canola industry
Farmers like to have excuses to head down south to warmer climes in the winter. Heck, almost all Canadians do. That’s the driving force behind holding all sorts of North American winter agriculture conferences in resort locations in the southern third of the United States every year, including that of the Canola Council of Canada, […] Read more
Former PM urges Ottawa to take tough stance with NAFTA
Know what’s in your grain contracts and make sure they protect and reward you as much as they protect and reward the buyer. That was advice from a seasoned sunflower marketer, speaking at CropConnect, to farmers thinking about contracting the crop. It makes a lot of sense because farmers can end up on the delivery […] Read more
Check out risk vs. reward on crop choices
Small profitability for most western Canadian crops and losses for others: that’s the bottom line outlook from Manitoba Agriculture’s farm management team. It highlights the need for farmers to take their production and marketing math seriously in these times of narrow margins. That’s especially true because the underlying risks in many of the crops are […] Read more
Thriving cash market survives wheat board demise
This year felt like the year the prairie cash grain market came of age. As with all situations of life, growth and aging, this one contains elements that have flourished and prospered and those that have weakened and died. While marketing platforms, marketing advisers and price competition grew more transparent and robust, some post-Canadian Wheat […] Read more
Time to speak up for Statistics Canada
It’s time to stop taking Statistics Canada for granted and to show it a little love. It’s also time to let your members of Parliament, your farm organization leaders and your fellow farmers know just how important the agency is for agriculture. There’s a real risk that Statistics Canada will further reduce its crucial production […] Read more
Weather-generated flash rallies requires quick action
Farmers might be frustrated when major negative weather events fail to stimulate lasting price rallies, but they should learn to value the opportunities generated by weather rallies that are too good to last. That’s what we saw with the recent wheat market rally ignited by the snowstorm and heavy rain that hit the southern U.S. […] Read more
