MarketsFarm — Planting intentions for red and green lentils and other pulses have been looking good for 2020 — but that might change somewhat because prices have slipped a little, said Marcos Mosnaim of Globeways Canada in Mississauga. Discussing pulse crops at a farm show last month in Saskatoon, Mosnaim said he got the strong […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: More acres sought for 2020
Machinery costs driving up fixed farming expenses
MarketsFarm — Fixed costs on farms continue to rise year-over-year, a statistic largely attributed to increasing land values and interest rates. At the beginning of 2019, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) reported farmland values across Canada increased by an average of 6.6 per cent during the previous year. But that’s not the main driver of fixed […] Read more
Virus fears weigh on global shipping sector
MarketsFarm — Global shipping rates continue to decline, hitting record lows in some cases, amid declining demand and concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in China. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange, provides an assessment of the price of moving major raw materials by sea. The BDI has fallen for 13 […] Read more
Poor Chinese demand a setback for grain exports
MarketsFarm — Canadian grain exports from licensed facilities are running well behind the previous year’s pace, due primarily to a sharp reduction in movement to China, according to latest monthly data from the Canadian Grain Commission. Total exports at Dec. 31 of grain, oilseed and pulse crops for the 2019-20 crop year to date came […] Read more
Trump signs CUSMA pact
Canada's ratification still to come
Washington | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a new North American trade agreement during an outdoor ceremony at the White House attended by about 400 guests — but not the key Democrats who helped secure congressional passage of the deal. Trump, on trial in the U.S. Senate on charges of abusing power […] Read more
Tim Hortons pulls Beyond Meat products from Ontario, B.C.
Reuters — Restaurant Brands International’s Tim Hortons said on Tuesday it has removed Beyond Meat’s products from its coffee and donut shops in Ontario and British Columbia. This comes after the coffee and breakfast chain cut Beyond Meat’s burgers and sandwiches from its menu in September from all of Canada except the two provinces. “We […] Read more
Canada, EU, China, others agree on temporary fix to WTO crisis
Brussels/Davos | Reuters — Canada, the European Union, China and 14 other World Trade Organization members agreed on Friday to create a temporary mechanism to settle trade disputes after U.S. action rendered the WTO incapable last month of acting as the umpire of global trade. The Canadian government and the European Commission said separately that […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Uncertainty pervades markets
MarketsFarm — The price spread between green and yellow peas continues to widen in Western Canada, but whether or not that trend will continue remains to be seen. Numerous outside factors lend a general air of uncertainty to the pulse market, according to a pulse trader. Green peas typically trade at a premium to yellow […] Read more
Trudeau wants CUSMA deal ratified quickly
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged legislators to quickly approve a new continental trade pact but the main opposition party said it wanted to study the deal, indicating the ratification process could drag on. Canada is the only one of the three signatories not to have formally blessed the […] Read more
U.S. Senate passes CUSMA trade deal
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a revamp of the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that includes tougher rules on labour and automotive content but leaves US$1.2 trillion in annual U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely unchanged. The legislation for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) passed on an 89-10 bipartisan vote, sending the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
