Jammed-full ports in Ontario are impacting basis and possible longer-term options for cash sales in the province, as laker traffic costs increase and tight freight access puts the squeeze on storage space along the St. Lawrence. Jeff Barlow, farmer from near Hamilton, Ont., and director with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), doesn't usually ever have... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Winter is not always kind to fall-planted wheat. Sometimes thin stands and winter kill make for a poor economic outlook and growers need to take it out and plant another crop. What do growers need to think about if they decide to switch to soybeans? Are there implications if a cereal herbicide had been applied... Read More
This editorial was first published on Breaking the Box blog During September, I spent almost every day in either a combine or sprayer. Like many farmers during harvest, I basically ran the business from my phone — assigning work orders, purchasing inputs, marketing grain, and making capital decisions. On a good day, and I stress... Read More
The federal government will pay approximately $1.7 billion to Canada's supply-managed dairy, poultry, and egg producers and processors to compensate for market access concessions made in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA or USMCA). Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement in Ascot Corner, Quebec on Monday, Nov. 13, expanding on the commitment made in the... Read More
As we look back on all that has happened in the agricultural commodity markets over the past three years, there's plenty to digest. Depending on where you farm, farmers have felt regret, moments of luck, angst, and joy over decent margins during these turbulent times. The question for me is always, now what? Where do... Read More
Looking south, overseas, and here at home, the beef market looks steady, good, and, well, not bad. For this week's Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, starts with a recap of what's happening in the U.S., where fed cattle held steady again this week. The wholesale market has peaked, likely, after... Read More
You could almost guess Red Deer, Alta., was set to host Agri-Trade just by looking at the forecast: snow, blizzard conditions, followed by a deep freeze is the basic recipe for just about all the major winter agriculture trade shows. Not easily daunted, RealAgriculture field editor Kara Oosterhuis was on location at AgriTrade this week... Read More
If you're tired of hearing words such as "unprecedented" and "new normal," you're not alone. That said, over time, what is average or normal or expected does change and evolve. Take commodity prices, for example. Over the very long term, the bottom level resistance for wheat futures at one time was $2/bushel. Eventually, that rose... Read More
It's a busy time of year in Ottawa and around the world for ministers and for the official critics, too. John Barlow, Alberta MP for Foothills, spent time in Paris, France, last week attending the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) minister's meeting. Canada's federal ag minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, chaired the meeting. Now that... Read More
Corn on corn shouldn't be the plan, but when it is, make sure the stalks are baled and returned as manure, says Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson. In this early November episode of Wheat Pete's Word, our host shares insight in to what's causing corn field fires, how much stress tolerance has improved in crop types,... Read More