Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday it has started analyzing for the first time data it has collected on the impact that wild pigs have on U.S. farmers’ crop and livestock operations. It is estimated by federal and state agricultural officials that there are more than five million wild […] Read more
USDA analyzing effects of wild pigs on crops, livestock
U.S. regulators revise proposal on commodity position limits
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. derivatives regulators are revising their proposal to limit the positions that traders can hold in commodity markets to make it easier for some hedge funds and banks to keep large trades. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission wants to allow financial firms to count their market positions separately from subsidiaries if […] Read more
StatsCan raises wheat, canola estimates with new model
CNS Canada — Wheat and canola production are expected to be higher than in previous estimates, but still lower than in 2014, according to a new Statistics Canada model for field crop production estimates. The model-based report, released Thursday, pegs this year’s spring wheat production at 18.4 million tonnes, higher than previously forecast in the […] Read more
Canola stocks increase dramatically in StatsCan report
CNS Canada –– It appears there’s a lot more canola in Prairie fields and bins than anybody thought. According to Thursday morning’s Stocks of Principal Field Crops report from Statistics Canada, the country had 2.3 million tonnes of canola in its stocks as of July 31 — 500,000 to one million tonnes more than analysts […] Read more
Small new crops keep eyes on ending stocks ahead of StatsCan
CNS Canada — Smaller Canadian canola and wheat crops in 2015-16 should keep some extra attention on the carryout from the previous crop year, when Statistics Canada releases its ending stocks report on Thursday. However, barring any surprises in the data, current weather and production prospects should remain the major drivers in futures markets. Canola […] Read more
Watch what you spray — or the entire grain industry could pay
Grain buyers are testing pesticide residues like never before
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to pesticide residues, the world is watching like never before. “Everybody is looking more at food safety and health safety — there’s more scrutiny all the time with all the chemicals that we’re using,” said Jim Smolik, assistant chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. He cited China as an example. The […] Read more
Little upside in oats as futures hit five-year lows
CNS Canada –– Oats futures in Chicago are trading at their lowest levels in five years, and cash bids in Western Canada are also doing little to encourage farmer selling. September oats at the Chicago Board of Trade settled Monday at US$2.2325, the lowest close for the front-month contract since June 2010. Cash bids are […] Read more
Sask. crops get soaked, but may take yield hit
(Reuters) – Two days of rainstorms in Saskatchewan, Canada’s biggest wheat- and canola-growing province, may have done more harm to crops than good, even though farms were parched, a Saskatchewan government official said on Wednesday. Much of the province received rain on Monday and Tuesday, with the capital, Regina, collecting about 90 millimetres (3.5 inches), […] Read more
Big and small, Foodgrains Bank growing projects making a difference
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mother Nature is making things difficult this year, but Alberta’s small army of Canadian Foodgrains Bank volunteers isn’t deterred. There are 32 growing projects underway in the province this year, including a new five-acre initiative near Ponoka. That’s where the Ponoka Ag society, in partnership with Ken and Verna Pohl, are growing oats completely with […] Read more
Yields to take precedence over acres in Canada
CNS Canada –– Canadian farmers seeded a bit more canola and a bit less wheat than originally expected, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada, released Tuesday. However, worsening drought conditions in the western Prairies over the past month and the need for reseeding due to frost damage earlier in June mean actual yields […] Read more
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