Cattle feeding does take a true cast iron gut at times. Whether it is dollar exchange, feed costs or external political factors, the volatility in all the profit and loss variables is enough to drive you mad. In this weeks Beef Market Update Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the beef markets and how the... Read More
Category: Markets
Grains this week were mixed as the USDA’s April WASDE report was published, and seeding starting in multiple areas across North America. Favourable weather conditions on the north half of the equator are competing with less favourable conditions in South America, which is why corn and soybeans ended the week up over 4% each (it... Read More
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was the winning bidder as Switzerland-based commodities giant Glencore sought to sell a chunk of its agricultural assets, including grain company Viterra. The CPPIB and Glencore announced last week they have reached a deal that will see the CPPIB pay $2.5 billion for a 40 percent stake in Glencore's... Read More
The grain market had its eyes on weather reports for the first full week of April while taking a second peek at the U.S.D.A.’s stocks and prospective planting numbers from last week. Profit-taking in palm oil markets in Malaysia has pressured soybeans a bit, while canola has maintained near-January levels as the Canadian Loonie has... Read More
The grain markets ended the month of March with fanfare on the backs of the U.S.D.A.’s March 31st stocks and acreage report and China switching up some policy. Beijing decided to scrap its minimum support prices for corn, pushing domestic corn prices immediately down to 5-year lows as the domestic price needs to gap down... Read More
The first quarter of 2016 is in the books and it's becoming clear the last two years in the cattle market were likely outliers. "Unfortunately it's a reminder of what normal is. 2016 is nothing like 2014 and 2015 which were really bull markets that kept running through most of both years. That's not the... Read More
Grain traders are questioning whether the USDA played an early April Fool's Day joke with its corn acreage projection in the department's March 31st acreage estimates. The Prospective Plantings Report included a projection of 93.6 million acres of corn in 2016, well beyond the trade's average expectation of just under 90 million. The soybean acreage... Read More
The Chinese government has agreed to postpone tighter dockage standards on Canadian canola. In February, China indicated a new standard allowing no more than 1 percent foreign material would be implemented on April 1. As Reuters first reported on Tuesday morning, China's import policy changes have now been postponed until September 1, 2016. The Chinese... Read More
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
Grains ended this week in the green, with soybeans leading the way at almost 1.5% higher for the week, and nearly 6% higher for the month of March. Canola is a close second, up over 1% for the week and over 5% so far in March. Wheat futures aren't far behind, after seeing a slight... Read More