MarketsFarm — Bids for feed grains have backed off previous highs as feedlots in Western Canada are covered into the New Year. “Now they’re bidding January and forward,” said Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. Bids for feed barley and feed wheat delivered from January to March were around $220 per tonne, according […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Grains pressured by lower demand

Klassen: Feeder cattle market under weight of imports
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 lower to $2 higher. It’s that time of year when most feedlots are carrying sufficient numbers and buyers are hesitant to increase ownership unless they can see profitability. Auction market volumes contained weaned and unweaned calves over the past week; premiums returned for feeders […] Read more

StatsCan shows corn, soy output down across board
Despite increases in Ontario’s harvested acres for both soybeans and corn, the province’s production of both crops in 2019 followed the rest of Canada’s lower in Statistics Canada’s latest estimates. StatsCan’s November estimates for production of principal field crops, released Friday, dropped Canada’s production of soybeans to six million tonnes, down 18.5 per cent from […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: CWRS prices up, durum largely down
MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly steady to higher for the week ended Thursday. There were gains for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat. However, Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) wheat was steady to lower. The Canadian dollar gained six-10ths of a cent during the week. […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder cattle edge higher on improving margins
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings were $2-$3 higher; calf prices were $2 to as much as $4 higher; calves under 600 lbs. were $4 to as much as $10 higher in some cases. February and April live cattle futures appear to be incorporating a risk premium due to the uncertainty in beef production […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: Improved basis underpins bids
MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly higher during the week ended Thursday, as basis levels improved in most locations. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were mixed during the week, with a steady to softer tone in Manitoba while Saskatchewan and Alberta saw gains of $1-$3 […] Read more

Grain groups seek ‘essential service’ status for rail
With Canadian National Railway’s conductors and yard workers headed back to work, several Canadian grain groups now want to head off any future job action in the rail sector. CN and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference announced separately Tuesday they had reached a tentative agreement ending an eight-day strike by over 3,000 unionized staff. The […] Read more

Charges laid in Alberta turkey farm occupation
A high-profile occupation last month by protestors at an Alberta Hutterite colony’s turkey farm has led to criminal charges against four people. RCMP on Wednesday announced charges of one count each of break and enter to commit mischief for a 46-year-old Edmonton man, a 24-year-old woman from Pincher Creek and a 28-year-old woman and 16-year-old […] Read more

Most oilseed estimates down in USDA’s October outlook
MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly oil crops outlook on Tuesday featuring reductions in global rapeseed and sunflower production and U.S. soybeans. USDA estimated global rapeseed production at 68.6 million tonnes, a decline of one million, with the lion’s share of the losses in Canada. Canadian production for 2019-20 was […] Read more

Klassen: Adverse weather tempers feeder market
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$5 lower. Excessive snow in Alberta and ongoing rains across Manitoba and Saskatchewan set a negative tone. The market appeared to incorporate a risk discount, although many auction barns had limited numbers on offer. Buyers once again focused on local cattle and avoided transportation over […] Read more