Berlin | Reuters — German drugs and chemical company Bayer announced plans on Wednesday for more than 1.5 billion euros (C$2.34 billion) of cost cuts as of 2024 and said it would take impairment charges on its agricultural business as it battles with low commodity prices. Bayer said that the impact of the coronavirus on […] Read more
Bayer plans more cost cuts, impairment charges
Pandemic now expected to hit crop science wing
Grain World: Farm consolidation key to increasing yields
Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Consolidating farms — going from numerous small operations to fewer, but much larger, farms — is central to improving crop yields, according to grain industry observers Neil Townsend and Jason Newton. Townsend is the chief market analyst for FarmLink Marketing Solutions, while Newton is the chief economist and head of marketing […] Read more
China, drought, debt shake Canadian farm finances
Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — For years, the financial stability of Canadian farmers was the envy of their U.S. counterparts, but rising costs, drought and a dispute with China have weakened their bottom lines. Net incomes plunged last year, and that setback was followed in March by China’s halting purchases of canola, Canada’s biggest crop. Now […] Read more
Climate change has U.S. fund managers adjusting agriculture investments
New York | Reuters — After historic floods devastated Midwestern agricultural states this spring, some fund managers are evaluating how climate change will affect the long-term value of companies that make or sell products ranging from tractors to fertilizer. The issue is not simply the unpredictability of weather. Instead, fund managers say, they are struggling […] Read more
No fresh aid package for U.S. farmers planned for now, Perdue says
Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration does not have any active plans to provide more aid to farmers at the moment but can consider the option if the trade negotiations and weak commodity prices linger, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday. “We have been very clear to the agriculture community that […] Read more
Uncertainty is the name of the game in a Trump regime
As America heads down a protectionist path, Canada could be left grappling with a border adjustment tax and the return of COOL
Reading Time: 2 minutes In Chuck Penner’s mind, there’s no doubt that Trump’s presidency adds complexity to markets. “The difficulty is the unpredictability of it — it’s gonna be big,” said the market analyst and founder of LeftField Commodity Research. “We just don’t know how things are going to shake out. “The media has no shortage of stories to […] Read more
Inputs and iron: Relentless price hikes squeeze producers
When crop prices soared, so did costs — and they stayed high even as farm revenues fell back to earth
Reading Time: 6 minutes Record-high grain and oilseed prices are a speck in the rear-view mirror, but they’ve left a legacy of higher costs. “When we see higher grain prices, we can expect to pay higher inputs,” said Scott Keller, a mixed grain farmer near New Norway. “All the companies selling crop inputs look at farmers’ margins and then […] Read more
Cargill profit jumps on meat demand, big U.S. crops
Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill on Tuesday reported a sharply higher adjusted quarterly profit led by strong results from its beef and turkey businesses and robust demand for North American grain and oilseed crops. The privately held company said adjusted operating earnings jumped nearly 80 per cent in the second quarter ended Nov. 30 […] Read more
Ocean freight rate index at historic low, again
CNS Canada –– The Baltic Dry Index, which gauges the price of moving grain and other goods by sea, is down to new historical lows, less than a month after setting the former floor. The BDI, compiled daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, was quoted at 471 points on Wednesday after falling below 500 points […] Read more
Loonie’s boost for commodity prices likely limited in 2016
CNS Canada — The Canadian dollar has been steadily depreciating through 2015, sinking to an 11-year low relative to its U.S. counterpart as the end of the year creeps closer. Even if the loonie stays weak in 2016, however, two analysts expect the upside potential it brings to agricultural commodity markets has mostly run out. […] Read more
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