Crops
Buenos Aires | Reuters –– Wheat exporters who buy the grain from Argentina’s farmers will not be issued permits if they pay the growers significantly less than the international price for the crop, the government said Friday. The announcement, by Economy Minister Axel Kicillof, followed complaints by local producers that government restrictions on wheat exports […] Read more
Argentina to restrict wheat export permits if low prices paid
Manitoba canola pest lab backed for equipment, research
A new Manitoba lab with federal, provincial and canola industry backing has been opened with the goal of staying a step ahead of canola diseases such as clubroot and verticillium wilt. The federal and Manitoba governments on Thursday announced $969,000 for equipment, including a polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) machine, and $250,000 for research at the […] Read more
Wheat basis muddied in Western Canada
CNS Canada — The difference between futures markets and cash markets for any exchange-traded commodities can usually be brought into focus by the basis — that is, except in Prairie wheat, where that focus has now gone fuzzy. Typically, a wide or narrow basis provides some indication of how representative the futures market is of […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, corn, soy fall on month-end fund selling
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures fell to multi-month lows Friday on commodity fund liquidation at the month’s end amid ample world stocks and fears of slowing growth, traders said. “We are building in record crops in South America, and we are washing out some spec length. Nobody can look at […] Read more
All crops not equal in face of weakening dollar
CNS Canada –– With the Canadian dollar falling to its weakest levels relative to its U.S. counterpart in six years, the general sentiment holds it should be good news for exporters, such as Canadian grain farmers. However, any net benefit may depend on what exactly is being exported and who is doing the buying, according […] Read more
PotashCorp’s profit beats on higher potash sales
Reuters — PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by market capitalization, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on strong potash sales, but its 2015 outlook disappointed. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp sold 2.5 million tonnes of potash, the most ever in a fourth quarter and up 42 per cent year over year. Its average realized potash price was $284 per […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat rallies, rebounds from three-month low
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose on Thursday, halting a six-session slide and rebounding from a three-month low after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported larger-than-expected weekly export sales. Corn and soybeans both closed lower. At the CBOT, March wheat settled up 2-1/2 cents at $5.07-3/4 per bushel, paring gains […] Read more
Minogue: Optimism reigns at FCC outlook meeting
Regina — Despite commodity prices down off recent highs, resurgent transportation problems and crop disease issues across the Prairies, farmers heard all good news at Farm Credit Canada’s Ag Outlook 2015 conference here Tuesday. “The sky’s not falling,” said J.P. Gervais, chief ag economist for Regina-based FCC. Actually, he said, things are pretty good. If […] Read more
New conditions placed on P.E.I. potato exports to U.S.
Potato wart’s appearance in another Prince Edward Island potato field in August has led to a new round of rules for the province’s potato exports to the U.S. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Monday announced new requirements effective “immediately” for such exports, citing the detection of potato wart in 23 fields in the […] Read more
New website to shed light on grain prices
Edmonton — Don’t know if your local elevator is offering a good price or not? There’s an app for that. Or at least there will be once www.pdqinfo.ca is fully up and running. The new website, created by the Alberta Wheat Commission with $742,725 in federal funding, aims to give farmers timely and accurate pricing […] Read more