D’Arce McMillan, The Western Producer markets editor, monitors trends in the North American and global agricultural markets. Each week he hosts a market video about crops. The video is designed to help viewers understand the forces responsible for changes in the trade. If agricultural markets are important to you, we have you covered.
Tag Archives News
Chinese ethanol plan could shake up markets
China has announced ambitious plans to require a 10 percent ethanol blend in gasoline by 2020. This could be as big a factor in crop markets as the huge increase in U.S. ethanol production in the 2000s that helped to lift corn prices for years. It has the potential to bring massive changes in the […] Read more
Healthier animals arrive at slaughter plants: audit
Data shows a three percent improvement in beef cows and 16 percent in beef bulls body condition from the 2007 audit
Cows and bulls in the United States travel an average of nine hours on their way to slaughter plants, according to the 2016 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit released last week. Among many topics within the survey, the audit included trailer and travel information for cows and bulls via potbelly trailer, the […] Read moreWP livestock report
HOGS SHARPLY LOWER The opening of a new hog slaughter plant in Iowa is not yet helping the cash hog price. Hog supply is ample, even as U.S. slaughter for the week was up about 13 percent over last year at the same time. Average U.S. carcass weight was 211.64 pounds, up about two pounds […] Read more
Incentives could entice producers into carbon storage: expert
Hardisty, Alta. — Storing carbon in soil isn’t exactly easy, but if ranchers can be convinced, through pricing or otherwise, they could be part of the solution to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said a re-search scientist. “It’s really for the public good,” said Edward Bork, the Mattheis Chair in rangeland ecology and management at […] Read more
Trade, taxes and transportation: welcome back to the Hill
MPs expecting a quiet return to Parliament Hill had better hold onto their hats: this fall session is shaping up to be a whirlwind. The circus that is the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations is headed to Ottawa later this week. Negotiators and officials will gather in the nation’s capital for the third round […] Read more
Growers frustrated by low prices offered for winter wheat
Winter wheat growers are frustrated. The 2017 crop in Western Canada had low disease and high quality, but some producers feel grain elevators are low balling the price. That’s because buyers are using it to blend into spring wheat or for feed, said Jake Davidson, executive director of Winter Cereals Canada. “The problem right now […] Read more
Cargill offers new options
Limb by limb the post-CWB marketing animal is evolving in Western Canada. It’s becoming a more complex beast, but that complexity is the farmer’s friend, or should be. Each new element is something that some farmer somewhere could find ideal. “The transparency is very important for the credibility of the program,” Tom Halpenny, a grain […] Read more
Canfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. FED MARKET STABILIZES The Canfax average fed steer price moved off its lowest point of the year, […] Read more
Off the combine and on to other essential tasks
It’s been an early harvest, and for many producers there should be an early harvest completion. This is a stark contrast to last year’s never-ending harvest and a chance to address a lot of other fall tasks. For those of us with problem perennial weeds such as Canada thistle, now is the prime time to […] Read more
