Watching what moves markets

Monitoring response to government crop and livestock reports helps with risk assessment and marketing plans


Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s a fact — government agricultural reports can affect the market. Those who follow crop and livestock markets often see the dramatic reaction these reports can have on prices, says provincial market specialist Neil Blue. “The reports are usually the result of a survey of inventory, or of estimated inventory and estimated use of crops […] Read more

More cattle heading to market as drought worsens

More cattle heading to market as drought worsens

Emphasis was on growing the herd, but that’s been nearly abandoned due to dry conditions

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s just a trickle now, but there are fears of a flood of cattle going to market if the drought continues. “It’s a little too early to be splitting up pairs, but we are seeing some pairs sell,” said Anne Wasko, market analyst with Gateway Livestock Services. Sale figures are being closely watched these days […] Read more


A rye cover crop. (Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Rye prices seen high, but stable

CNS Canada –– Rye crops have been reacting to Saskatchewan’s heat and dryness by developing faster than they would normally be — but healthy crops elsewhere appear to be helping to keep global prices stable, at least for the time being. U.S. crops may stop rye prices from moving too turbulently, at least until Canada’s […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Yields to take precedence over acres in Canada

CNS Canada –– Canadian farmers seeded a bit more canola and a bit less wheat than originally expected, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada, released Tuesday. However, worsening drought conditions in the western Prairies over the past month and the need for reseeding due to frost damage earlier in June mean actual yields […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Wheat, canola stocks surprisingly tight in StatsCan report

CNS Canada — Canada’s ag industry was surprised to see some tighter-than-anticipated supply estimates in Statistics Canada’s latest report on stocks of grain and oilseeds Wednesday morning. StatsCan said Canadian wheat supplies, as of March 31, totaled 16.74 million tonnes — about a million lower than expected, said Mike Jubinville of ProFarmer Canada. “On the […] Read more

cow in a pasture

What’s a fair rent for a pasture? ‘It depends’

Higher cattle prices and a decline in available pastures putting upward pressure on rental rates

Reading Time: 2 minutes Higher cattle prices have some producers and landowners revisiting their pasture leases. “Pasture rental rates can be difficult to figure out because there are many factors to consider such as local availability of land and pasture, localized demand, quality of the pasture, condition of the existing fences and water, and bargaining,” said Dean Dyck, a […] Read more