Crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes The other day, the Dickinson Research Extension Center became home to an unstoppable force that is going to drill a well. In this case, an oil well. The spot selected is in the middle of a native grass pasture. Who knows the age of that native grass, but certainly the plants were there long before […] Read more
What lies beneath your feet is a marvel of nature
It’s believed native grasslands contain plants a century old, their tillers advancing inch by inch to create a perpetual ecosystem
ICE weekly outlook: Canola due for corrective bounce
CNS Canada — The November ICE Futures Canada canola contract broke below the key psychological level of C$400 per tonne during the week, but recovered Wednesday to settle just above that level. In the near term, the canola market is “due for a little bit of a reprieve,” said Errol Anderson of ProMarket Communications in […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans, wheat bounce from four-year lows
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures prices jumped nearly one per cent on Wednesday as a recent plunge to four-year lows encouraged investors to cover short positions, after lower prices sparked improved export demand. Corn and soybean futures also ticked higher in a short-covering bounce from four-year lows, though good weather speeding the harvest […] Read more
Big crops keep pressure on CBOT soybeans, corn
CNS Canada — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell to fresh four-year lows during the week ended Wednesday, and there is still plenty of room to the downside as the harvest pressure builds over the next month. “It will be a long harvest,” said Scott Capinegro, president of Barrington Commodity […] Read more
Canadian fertilizer firms brace for fall in U.S. crop prices
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian fertilizer companies PotashCorp and Agrium are bracing for a pullback in demand from U.S. farmers due to sliding crop prices, but say any slump is unlikely to be severe. The prospect for a record-large U.S. corn crop has dragged Chicago nearby corn futures to a four-year low. Lower prices of […] Read more
CME says no current plans to introduce VSR in corn futures
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade grain exchange, said on Wednesday it had no immediate plans to introduce its controversial variable storage rate (VSR) scheme in its CBOT corn futures, the world pricing benchmark for the biggest and most valuable feed grain. “We have no current plans to […] Read more
Alberta potato growers fearful of future
So far, high quality along with a strong reputation for hardy and virus-free seed stock has kept potato acreage steady in Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes The humble potato is suffering a very bad rap of late — and that has Alberta growers worried. Although full of vitamins, nutrients and fibre, the longtime staple has become vilified in the last decade and grouped with sugar and white flour as an obesity-causing ‘white food.’ And changing demographics and tastes has more North […] Read more
Calculators needed to make sense of Prairie wheat bids
CNS Canada — Consistent wheat pricing can still be a struggle to find across Western Canada, two years into the new open market. A lack of consistency can make it difficult to compare pricing from one delivery point to the next, leaving farmers uncertain just how much their wheat is worth. While one elevator may […] Read more
Retired Thompsons Ltd. chief Wes Thompson, 87
A small family service is to be held Friday for the second-generation head of storied Ontario commodity handler and ag retail firm Thompsons Ltd. Wes D. Thompson, son of company founder Wesley G. Thompson and president of the family business from 1950 to 1993, died Monday in hospital in Chatham, Ont. of unspecified causes at […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans sink to four-year lows as harvest advances
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell to four-year lows on Tuesday as mild and mostly dry weather across the U.S. Midwest is expected to boost the harvest of record crops. Wheat fell in tandem with retreating corn and soy, anchored by plentiful global supplies and strong competition for export business. Chicago […] Read more