Chicago | Reuters — CME Group live cattle and hog futures slumped on Friday, as investors worried about the prospect of food inflation weighing heavy on U.S. consumer meat demand as the summer grilling season gets underway, analysts said. Benchmark June lean hogs settled the day down 2.975 cents, to 104.1 cents/lb. (all figures US$). […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs slip on demand concerns
Inflation on U.S. retail meat a worry
How widespread will interest rate fallout be?
Looking at economic history, the effects aren’t always as dramatic as you might think
Reading Time: 3 minutes Take a moment to imagine what the world and your business would look like if interest rates were at four per cent — or even six per cent — instead of two per cent. Everyone has been talking about inflation and interest rates and yield curve inversions lately, so what does it all mean? While […] Read more
Worsening global food security needs Ukraine, Russia production, UN chief says
Abuja | Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday the problem of global food security could not be solved without restoring Ukrainian agricultural production and Russian food and fertilizer output to the world market. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has added to volatility in financial markets, sending commodity prices higher and affecting logistics, […] Read more
U.S. EPA allows temporary summer sales of higher-ethanol fuel
Waiver seen as score for corn growers
New York | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency waiver for a higher-ethanol gasoline blend on Friday, allowing summertime sales of the fuel in an attempt to help lower gasoline prices at the pump. The move represents a temporary win for the biofuels industry and corn farmers, as it will likely […] Read more
Schoepp: Rising input costs offer a chance to rethink our approach
The benefits of biodiversity are increasingly well known and offer an alternative to the status quo
Reading Time: 3 minutes Gas and diesel prices are heading into record territory, while producers are facing shortages of basics such as seed, herbicide and fertilizer. With costs increasing, the question becomes one of field performance. Are there ways to hold the yields without compromising the environment while on the journey to better climate behaviour? One could argue that […] Read more
It’s looking like a bumper crop of cash advances this spring
Cash flow a major issue as drought has left producers with less money while inputs have shot up
Reading Time: 4 minutes Groups administering cash advances are expecting a flood of applications from cash-strapped producers grappling with the sky-high costs of putting a crop in the ground. “We certainly think there is going to be demand because of how nasty last year was,” said Dave Gallant of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. “There’s going to be so […] Read more
A shipping container fix may be coming
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bulk shipping rates are way down but getting past the pandemic is likely key to fixing the shipping container mess, says a provincial crops market analyst. “Relief in container shipping rates should occur within months following a decline in COVID-19 cases and easing of restrictions, as consumers turn more of their attention to out-of-home spending […] Read more
Gasoline, diesel prices set to continue rising
MarketsFarm — The steady rise in crude oil prices is based on three factors, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for Oil Price Information Service at Lakewood, N.J. One of those factors is the amount of crude oil produced by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with some […] Read more
Crystal balls are especially wonky, so watch your news feed
There’s been so much upheaval on every front, watchlists are replacing predictions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm Credit Canada is steering clear of predictions and instead offering producers a short list of things to monitor in 2022. The pandemic, weather disasters, supply chain disruptions, labour issues and the reappearance of inflation are among the many things that are making “trends increasingly difficult to forecast,” FCC said in a recent release. But […] Read more
Vaccine mandate to lead to inflation, empty shelves, trucking executives say
Parallel mandate for U.S. entry starts Saturday
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian consumers should soon see higher prices and some empty shelves in supermarkets and other retail outlets because of disruptions stemming from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, top trucking executives warned this week. The mandate, imposed by Ottawa to help curb the spread of the virus, has cost six […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
