Winnipeg | CNS Canada — Soybean acres in Canada — particularly Western Canada — are expected to be on the rise, according to an analyst. “I’m basing that on new varieties as well as price,” Chris Beckman, oilseeds analyst for the grains and oilseeds division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, told the annual Wild Oats […] Read more

Soybeans’ potential seen growing on Prairies

Manitoba corn acres expected to be ‘down or flat’
CNS Canada — A mixture of extremely wet conditions in 2014 and a projected dry outlook for southwestern Manitoba are leading one corn expert to predict fewer corn acres in the province in 2015. “The southwest was wet, wet, wet and now they’re expecting to be dry, dry, dry. Neither of those conditions is great […] Read more

Mustard acres expected to soften slightly in 2015
CNS Canada — Canadian mustard seeds could be vying for attention this spring from some of their more lucrative rivals, the chairman of the Saskatchewan Mustard Seed Development Commission predicts. “I would say mustard acres would be down a little bit from the previous year just based on the profit potential for other crops,” said […] Read more

Large unpriced corn, soy stocks seen overhanging Chicago futures
CNS Canada — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn and soybean futures saw choppy activity over the past week but large unpriced supplies of both commodities, held by farmers across the U.S. Midwest, will keep the long-term bias pointed lower, one analyst says. One trader said a lack of fundamental news and strength in the […] Read more

Optimism for Canada to plant 100K acres to sunflowers
CNS Canada — Wet weather may have cost western Canadian producers 20,000 acres of sunflowers last year, according to one industry watcher who’s hopeful 2015 will be a little kinder. “We were anticipating over 100,000 acres last year and as it turned out we came into that 80,000 range,” said Ben Friesen, purchasing manager for […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola hangs tough with loonie
CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were rangebound for the week ended Wednesday, but managed to post slight gains overall as a weaker Canadian dollar supported values. “Weakness in the Canadian dollar is the underlying supportive factor,” said Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg. Funds are very long right now, he […] Read more

Cattle chew through less grain in 2014-15, so far
CNS Canada — Mild weather, fewer cattle and a growing list of alternative grains led Canadian cattle to chew through less feed in the first five months of the 2014-15 crop year. According to Tuesday’s grain stocks report from Statistics Canada, feed barley usage was at 2.67 million tonnes as of Dec. 31, down from […] Read more

Regulatory requirements seen keeping diesel prices high
CNS Canada — Diesel prices in North America aren’t likely to come down to the levels of gasoline anytime soon, according to an analyst. “It’s probably going to trade at a premium to gasoline for some time,” said Phil Flynn, energy market analyst for Price Futures Group in Chicago. One of the main challenges facing […] Read more

Fertilizer prices stray away from corn influence: Analyst
CNS Canada — Foreign exports and transportation look like they could be the main issues facing the fertilizer industry in 2015. Countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are busy players on the market, with Morocco also ramping up production. As a result, more supplies of phosphates and other fertilizers are out there, according to […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola spikes as loonie falls
CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts finished higher for the week ended Wednesday, tracking the U.S. soy complex for much of the period but ultimately shooting higher due to the Canadian dollar’s sudden free-fall. The weaker currency helped improve domestic crush margins and also made canola more attractive to exporters pricing in U.S. […] Read more