Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the more peculiar accusations levelled at the Canadian Wheat Board is that is “secretive.” Compared to what? No other of the world’s major grain marketing organizations provides so much detail such as that in the annual report released last month. Contrast the CWB’s multi-page statements of revenue and expenses with Glencore, one of […] Read more
You Can’t Beat The Market — Or The Pool
Editors’ Picks: Agricultural analysis goes animated
A four-minute animated adaptation of a 62-page report on food security from Japan’s agriculture ministry has become a “minor YouTube hit,” according to the U.S. magazine BusinessWeek. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) recently commissioned Tokyo design studio Groovisions, which has previously developed visuals for MTV in Japan, to develop a MAFF report, […] Read more
Agricultural di-“verse”ification
Reading Time: 3 minutes The tree is took down, the shortbread is all eaten So it’s time for our first annual New Year’s greetin’ In doggerel (verse that rhymes badly) we look at the past year Because in hindsight our view is always perfectly clear Speaking of hinds, I hear the coffee shop news is That the behinds of […] Read more
If no one’s complaining, things must be fine
Reading Time: 3 minutes When the stock market drops by 40 per cent, what happens? People get upset. Really upset. The world’s leaders hold emergency meetings. Virtually every economist quoted in the financial press agrees that the “free market” system got completely out of hand, turning into a system to capitalize gains and socialize losses. Governments are taking equity […] Read more
Fusarium burger? It’s proven scientifically safe
Reading Time: 3 minutes Though grain and oilseed prices have fallen dramatically over the past few weeks, it’s clear that’s largely due to fallout from the international credit crisis. That hasn’t changed the fundamentals of the marketplace. The recovery in production this year has helped move off the knife edge between supply and demand that was talked about so […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
