Reading Time: 2 minutes Nations in the Middle East and North Africa have long been the leaders in importing durum wheat, and despite the political unrest in many countries in the area, imports have not slowed down. Bruce Burnett, director of market analysis with the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg, said the upheaval in the area has caused some […] Read more
Durum prices trend higher thanks to Middle East
Outlook wet for Prairies’ spring seeding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Flood worries are sky-high in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan this spring, and weather analysts believe the wet conditions may last throughout the entire first half of 2011 and impact spring seeding operations. Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc. in Kansas City, said even though Western Canada has been fairly dry for the last couple […] Read more
Ethanol industry blamed for skyrocketing corn prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain and oilseed prices have reached some of their strongest values in years, and a key contributor is demand for corn from U.S. ethanol plants, according to an analyst. Kevin Grier, senior market analyst with the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont., said the current amount of corn being used by U.S.-based ethanol plants is […] Read more
Large, poor-quality lentil stocks to weigh on values
Reading Time: 2 minutes While nearly all crops in Canada saw a loss in stocks from the same time one year ago, lentils were an exception, and a large exception at that. Large supplies, together with the fact much of the stocks are of poorer quality, should weigh on prices and lead to fewer acres this spring. According to […] Read more
Tight supply of flaxseed confirmed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fears of tight flaxseed supplies in Canada were confirmed by Friday’s stocks report from Statistics Canada, which showed only 453,000 tonnes in the country as of Dec. 31, 2010, as opposed to 843,000 at the same time one year ago. Although total stocks are very low, Chuck Penner of Left Field Commodities in Winnipeg said […] Read more
Oat market on the upswing
Reading Time: 2 minutes The value of oats on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) has eclipsed the US$4 per bushel level, and producers in Western Canada hope they can soon see the same type of price. “There’s a strong correlation between Canadian and Chicago (CBOT) oat prices,” said grain merchant Ryan McKnight, president of Linear Grain at Carman, […] Read more
Wheat to see larger acre increase than barley
Reading Time: 2 minutes With wheat showing strong returns across Western Canada, it appears producers are showing more interest in wheat than barley “Wheat is garnering a significant portion of the acre increase, barley a little less so at the moment,” said Bruce Burnett, director of weather and market analysis with the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg. Bill Craddock, […] Read more
Canola basis levels steady at the moment
Reading Time: 2 minutes The steadying of canola futures prices on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform in Winnipeg has stabilized canola basis levels. Mike Jubinville of Pro Farmer Canada in Winnipeg said basis levels are fairly decent at the moment, thanks to a solid amount of product in the commercial pipeline. “We currently have 1.5 million metric tonnes […] Read more
Chickpeas rise on global weather concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Commodity News Service Canada) — Chickpea prices have been trending higher over the past month, with weather problems in some of top-producing nations a key reason for the strengthening of the market. Omer Al-Katib, director of corporate affairs and investor relations with Alliance Grains in Regina, said in an e-mail that production concerns outside Canada […] Read more
Sunflowers edge higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Commodity News Service Canada) — Sunflower prices have been rising in Western Canada, but haven’t triggered much in the way of producer selling, as most farmers feel values will still go higher. Luc Remillard of Remillard Seed Farms at St. Joseph, Man., about 15 km east of Altona, said it’s been a wait-and-see process of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
