The ratio of workers to retirees in Canada has historically been around 5 to 1, however it's trending toward 2 to 1 in the next few decades. The implications this will have for government and the labour market was the topic of Andrew Coyne's talk at the Growing the Agri-Workforce Summit, as ag industry people... Read More
Category: Economy & Financial Markets
The winds of change have blown through Canada. No longer is Alberta on top of the Canadian economic machine. Ontario is no longer the manufacturing super power. The word 'Conservative' cannot be found in the name of any governing provincial party and no one is joking about the attitude of Saskatchewan. "Excellence is not a... Read More
We're talking about everything from the state of the US and Canadian economies to SaskCanola's effort to share how many farmers view modern ag technology through the "License to Farm" film. After spending most of the week at Ag Days in Brandon, Kelvin Heppner host of this week's news podcast and is joined by a... Read More
Agriculture is poised to play a much larger role in the Canadian economy thanks to impacts of climate change and declining revenues from oil extraction, says well-known author and economist Jeff Rubin. "Climate change has fatal implications for our previous ambitions of becoming an energy superpower, but it's going to make other assets and resources... Read More
Commodity prices continue to trade flat to lower as Chinese stock market losses continue to weigh heavy on broader markets, including commodities, forcing broader optimism for global economic growth to fade. All grain values are lower in the first few weeks of 2016 but with some notables being the front month contracts for oats below... Read More
For the better part of the last two decades, commodity markets have become accustomed to demand growth from China supporting prices. Whether it was iron ore from Australia or soybeans from the U.S., sales to China grew year-over-year. However, it's becoming increasingly likely that those days are over. Headlines over the last few week to... Read More
With the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and the Bank of Canada suggesting it’s considering negative interest rates, how much lower can the Canadian loonie drop relative to the U.S. dollar? It’s an important question when determining whether to lock in basis levels, as movement in... Read More
This past week saw a lot of reports from various places, but the report that most outside markets are waiting for will come from the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday, December 16th, as the Fed will decide whether it's raising U.S. interest rates or not. The Canadian Loonie continues to struggle against the U.S. dollar,... Read More
The grains market continued to trade through the U.S. Thanksgiving week a bit quieter (par for the course) against a stronger U.S. dollar, but ended the week a bit higher thanks to some decent U.S. export sales for corn and soybeans. All things being equal, global trade continues to be encouraged by low ocean freight... Read More
Grains continue to trade a bit sideways to higher as buyers went out into the market to find some supply with “let’s bring some stuff in” attitude earlier in the week but things pulled back later on. The oilseed complex is being supported by solid US soybean sales and oil prices heading higher. With some... Read More