Rod Nickel

Reading Time: 2 minutes Wheat production in the United States and other countries is “robust” enough to avoid a world wheat shortage despite crippling drought in Russia, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Aug. 10. Wheat futures surged to two-year highs this month as Russia banned exports on concerns about its crop. Some analysts have said index funds fueled […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute The chief executive of Viterra Inc., a leading grain handler in Canada and South Australia, said the company is well positioned for further acquisitions and continues to seek them, but would not comment in an interview with Reuters on Aug. 23 on the possibility of bidding for AWB Ltd. Canada’s Agrium Inc. made a A$1.2-billion […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Wheat production in the United States and other countries is “robust” enough to avoid a world wheat shortage despite crippling drought in Russia, U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Aug. 10. Wheat futures surged to two-year highs this month as Russia banned exports on concerns about its crop. Some analysts have said index funds […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes “Farmers haven’t been able to plant more than 10-20 per cent in some areas because they haven’t seen it that way in their farming lifetimes.” BRUCE BURNETT CWB Record rain in a wide band of Western Canada’s crop belt will leave the most unplanted acres in nearly 40 years, driving harvests down sharply from a […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes The soaring Canadian dollar has led to more U.S. pork and beef landing on Canada’s store shelves this year, but the country’s meat exports look stronger despite the currency’s climb, export officials said April 8. Canada imported nearly 12,000 tonnes of U.S. processed pork from Jan. 1 to March 27, a 43 per cent increase […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes “Maybe this year they’ve just done a better job and it’s as simple as that.” ken ball futures & options broker, union securities stats world wheat exporters 2009/10 year ending May 31 – estimate. Source: Reuters from USDA data Canada 14.8% e. U. 15.2% australia 12.0% argentina 3.2% U. s. 18.0% Other 8.9% Former soviet […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes “We’re dependent on those packers to level the playing field as far as the overall pricing in Canada.” Tony Saretsky, Cantriex Livestock Shrinking cattle supplies in Canada and the U. S. Northwest could leave the JBS-USA packing plant in Hyrum, Utah, vulnerable to closure, a Canadian meat market analyst said March 26. The plant is […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Growing demand in China for canola oil and protein products will likely lead to it easing restrictions against Canadian canola, but it’s unclear when that will happen, said the top executive with James Richardson International, Canada’s No. 2 crop handler. “I think that (demand) is going to put pressure on people to take a look […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes U. S. barley imports from Canada have plunged 62 per cent to 179,000 tonnes, after American farmers produced a big, high-quality crop in 2009. China’s thirst for beer has driven up its barley imports from Canada by 86 per cent, but weaker U. S. demand more than offsets those gains. From August through January, China […] Read more