Bayer has sent a purchase offer over to the folks at Monsanto, former ag minister Gerry Ritz thinks the federal Liberals should get moving with ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even if the U.S. isn't on board, and planting continues across the country, despite dry conditions, frost and other challenges. As we catch up on this... Read More
Category: Podcasts
The federal government is "purposefully delaying" making a commitment that Canada will participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, says the trade critic for the Official Opposition. Gerry Ritz, who was the agriculture minister when the terms of the TPP were finalized prior to the federal election last fall, says the Liberals appear intent on dragging out... Read More
Wondering why the wheat is looking burnt? Or if the frost affected your crop? Have you been out scouting for insects yet? Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture, returns to answer questions and share his agronomic insight in his weekly update — the Word. Skip to Podcast Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311,... Read More
The Canadian dollar could be settling in for some quieter time after a wild ride over the last year. In May 2015, the loonie traded at over 83 cents US. It then went for a slide, bottoming out in mid-January at around 68 cents before rallying aggressively, touching 80 cents in early May. The dollar... Read More
The online sharing concept that has produced Uber, Airbnb and other examples of peer-to-peer services aimed at better utilizing existing capital is developing in the U.S. farm machinery market. MachineryLink Sharing, which launched in the fourth quarter of 2015, bills itself as the industry's first internet-based equipment sharing program. Farmers, and even some equipment dealers,... Read More
Coming off record global production last year, world wheat supplies are massive. And yet, growing year-over-year ending stocks have not translated into a major decline in cash wheat bids for Canadian farmers. That's mainly due to two related factors: the weak Canadian dollar and tightening Canadian supplies — a function of the weak dollar driving... Read More
The number of cattle on feed in Canada is continuing to grow, according to the May report from CanFax. Part of the reason numbers are climbing, senior analyst Brian Perillat explains, is more heifers are going into feedlots. "We always gauge that as an appetite for expansion and unfortunately it still looks like quite a... Read More
Granular phosphorus fertilizer recovered from liquid hog manure could be a viable alternative to traditional 11-52 monoammonium phosphate (MAP) fertilizer for growing wheat and canola, according to research done at the University of Manitoba. Struvite "looks like a fantastic fertilizer," says Don Flaten, U of M soil scientist and one of the authors of a... Read More
Canola supplies will likely be tight leading up to harvest this fall, and could be even tighter in 2017 based on StatsCan estimates, average yields and demand trends. "The market is definitely telling us supplies are not going to be as abundant as what we've had over the last few years, and I would say... Read More
Rain, and even some snow, has slowed seeding progress on the prairies, but nobody's complaining. Cool temperatures, meanwhile, are hampering planting in Ontario and creating some nutrient issues, as we hear from Whete Pete. There are new reports of Bayer and BASF considering bids for Monsanto, soybean markets soared thanks to the USDA and barbecue... Read More