Current U.S. president and former New York real estate developer Donald Trump might might not have fully realized the power of ethanol in the politics of America’s heartland. But he is learning now that the ethanol industry, which generates US$45 billion in economic activity annually, mostly in Midwestern farm states, can’t be treated in a […] Read more
Tag Archives Market Watch
Canola meal: from byproduct to valuable co-product
A new type of canola with a meal similar to soybean meal promises a major breakthrough into the vast livestock feed market. Researchers are also working hard on other aspects of the meal to capture fast-growing opportunities in the human food market, which is hot for protein. After years of development and testing DowDuPont plans […] Read more
Stars align to support crop prices
Crop futures prices often rally in the spring and early summer because traders set prices to account for a weather risk premium and this year is no different. Indeed, prices for nearby futures in wheat, canola and corn are at or near the top of the common range of price in the last two or […] Read more
Global crop stocks forecast to decline due to bad weather
The world grain surplus that has weighed on crop prices for the past few years is getting smaller, with corn leading the way. With recent weather problems in South America, the stocks numbers might shrink even more, although not yet enough to spark the kind of hot price rallies seen a few years ago. After […] Read more
China-U.S. trade tensions could drag on for months
Some soybean traders last week were gullible enough to believe rumours that great progress was made in the first serious face-to-face meeting of American and Chinese negotiators in the trade dispute between the world’s two leading economies. A U.S. trade delegation of cabinet secretaries led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was in China May 3-4 […] Read more
Reputation more important than labels in food business
You won’t find vegetarian products labelled as burgers, steaks, sausages or even bacon-flavoured in France. And to get the monikers dairy, milk or cheese, the product must come from an animal, not almonds or soy. France’s parliament recently approved the measures and now the U.S. National Farmers Union, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association and the National […] Read more
Rising crude oil could lend support to canola values
Crude oil hitting the highest price in three years is positive for oilseed prices but it does not necessarily drive them higher because of other pricing factors, such as supply and demand as well as trade issues. These latter factors have spurred canola to a strong premium over competing oilseeds. Strong crude oil prices help […] Read more
U.S. farmers face greater uncertainty this spring
With huge political and trade uncertainty as well as tight cropping margins at the top of mind for American farmers, a long general trend of rising corn and soybean acreages could take a pause this year. Farmers on the northern U.S. Plains are considering spring wheat over corn this spring, and those in the southern […] Read more
La Nina makes its presence felt; Argentina dry, Australia wet
The water in the Pacific east and central equatorial region is cooling and climate forecasters say we are officially in a weak La Nina. However, the situation already appears to be influencing weather. Just before I delve into the La Nina situation, I’ll draw your attention to the Statistics Canada crop production report that came […] Read more
Canadian processors strangely quiet on online grocery opportunities
It appears consumers around the world are increasingly turning to online venues to do their shopping. The headlines out of the United States about the big Black Friday retail push this past weekend emphasized the growing market share of online retail. Groceries are not excluded from this trend, and major food companies are starting to […] Read more
