MarketsFarm — While corn and wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) stayed fairly steady during the week ended Wednesday, soybean prices steadily declined. The November soybean contract dropped 30 cents per bushel from one week ago to close Wednesday at $13.1975/bu. (all figures US$). During the same week, December corn only lost […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Funds getting out of soybeans
Potential for U.S. government shutdown a concern
FCC offers new credit line against ‘current economic environment’
Ag lender to waive loan processing fees
Farm Credit Canada’s recent outreach to specific agrifood sectors hit by unusual environmental conditions has now extended to those hit by the broader “economic environment.” The federal ag lender on Tuesday said it will offer an unsecured credit line of up to $500,000 with loan processing fees waived, “to help producers, agribusinesses and agri-food operations […] Read more
Cash advance applications soar along with interest rate
With the interest-free portion being upped to $350,000, producers would save thousands — or even invest it
Reading Time: 5 minutes There’s been a surge in the number of farmers seeking cash advances thanks to soaring interest rates and a big increase in the interest-free portion of the loan. And the deal might even be tempting farmers who don’t need an operating loan. On April 3, the opening day of the 2023 program, the Canadian Canola […] Read more
Feds lock in higher interest-free portion on cash advances
Budget boost in effect as of Monday
A further temporary increase to the interest-free chunk of cash advances available to Canadian farmers, as telegraphed in March’s federal budget, has now gone live. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau confirmed Wednesday that the interest-free limit under the Advance Payments Program (APP) for the 2023 program year is now $350,000, effective Monday (May 8). The regulatory […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit five-week low
Technical selling, economic worries add pressure; June hogs up
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to their lowest level in more than five weeks on Tuesday as technical selling and concerns about the U.S. economy weighed on prices, analysts said. Economic worries increased after the failure over the weekend of First Republic Bank. Wall Street stock indexes sagged ahead […] Read more
Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide
FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable
Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more
U.S. grains: Chicago soy closes lower
Brazil production, Fed in focus for soy; wheat, corn still capped by Black Sea deal extension
Reuters — Chicago soy futures reversed gains to close lower on Tuesday, pushed down by rising estimates of Brazilian production, while corn and wheat dipped as markets kept a cautious eye on an expected Federal Reserve rate hike. Wheat and corn continue to be capped by the extension of a Black Sea export corridor from […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, corn rally from multi-month lows
Ukraine corridor talks eyed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures rose on Tuesday, rebounding from multi-month lows set last week, as Wall Street equity markets turned higher and signs of fresh grain export demand emerged, analysts said. Uncertainty about talks to extend a wartime grain export corridor from Ukraine lent support. Soybean futures posted smaller advances […] Read more
Farmland values exceed expectations
Ontario leads the country with 19.4 per cent increase
Average farmland prices were up 12.8 per cent in Canada in 2022, the largest increase seen since 2014 when the increase was 14.3 per cent. The increase follows gains of 8.3 per cent in 2021 and 5.4 per cent in 2020. J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist, said the numbers were a little bit of a […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: U.S. futures drag down wheat bids
Potential for more interest rate hikes remains
MarketsFarm — Hawkish comments from the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the possible renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative brought down wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for the week ended Thursday — and, in turn, pressured western Canadian wheat bids. In front of the U.S. Senate banking committee […] Read more
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