Compared to last week, yearling prices were steady to as much as $4 lower depending on the region in Western Canada. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle at an average price of $252 on a dressed basis, down $6-$8 from last week and down about $20 from the last week of January. Weakness in fed […] Read more
Klassen: Calf prices divorce from yearling markets
Feed weekly outlook: Bids pressured by lower demand
MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices have remained soft, as feedlots in Western Canada are covered for the foreseeable future. Last week, prices for feed barley and feed wheat delivered in Lethbridge were around $230 per tonne, but have come down by about $10 since then, according to Allan Pirness of Market Place Commodities. While these […] Read more
Manitoba growers approve five-way commodity group merger
Manitoba grain growers represented by five separate commodity organizations have voted to greenlight a merger they now expect to make official by August. A total of 165 ballots were cast Wednesday and Thursday during the groups’ annual general and special meetings at the CropConnect conference in Winnipeg, with members at the various events voting between […] Read more
Opinion: On cereal commissions. Collaboration? Yes. Amalgamation? No
Sharing staff has been good for Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley, but having one board wouldn’t be wise
Reading Time: 3 minutes At FarmTech last month, the membership of the Alberta Wheat Commission passed a resolution to explore the possibility of one governance structure with the Alberta Barley Commission. Alberta Barley passed a similar resolution at its AGM in December. The exploratory process shouldn’t be clouded by turf wars on the employee side of things since the […] Read more
Klassen: Uncertain beef demand weighs on feeder market
Compared to last week, western Canadian prices for yearling and heavier calves were down $2-$4 on average. The calf market was hard to define; Alberta markets traded $3 lower to $4 higher but notable strength was evident in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where values were steady to $4 higher. Favourable weather contributed to higher auction market […] Read more
Strong export demand, acreage ahead for barley
Lower supplies from Australia benefit Canadian growers
MarketsFarm — Canadian malting barley acreage is expected to remain high in the coming year, mostly due to strong export demand. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center in Winnipeg, said tough harvest conditions were partially to blame for lowered malt barley output in 2019. “We had a fairly lousy harvest, […] Read more
GFO quits Grain Growers of Canada
Grain Farmers of Ontario flags national group's 'governance' and structure
Grain Farmers of Ontario has dropped out of Grain Growers of Canada. The Ontario organization, which represents about 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers in the province, cited a lack of representation in the national policy group. GFO publicly announced its withdrawal in a news release on Thursday, days after it informed the […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Buyers not looking to make purchases
MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices were beginning to soften as many buyers don’t have a major need to purchase from growers, said Nelson Neumann, senior trader for Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta. “There’s still obviously a demand, but buyers are pretty well covered for the February-March timeframe. That’s a window where a lot of growers […] Read more
Unharvested crops skew StatsCan stocks data
MarketsFarm — Canadian canola stocks were slightly tighter at the end of the 2019 calendar year compared to the previous year, according to updated Statistics Canada data. However, adverse harvest conditions left a large amount of the crop unaccounted for in the survey, which skews the overall supply/demand outlook. “Because of poor weather conditions during […] Read more
What are your barley research priorities?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute and the Barley Council of Canada are seeking producer input on developing a national research strategy for barley. A key objective of the National Barley Research Strategy is to identify, and quantify, the research of highest importance to farmers. The survey asks respondents about topics such as how […] Read more
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