Reading Time: 2 minutes The jury remains out on the CWB’s recently-introduced pricing options for marketing Prairie wheat, according to industry analysts who say they see too many unknowns with the contracts to recommend them to farmers. A federal government bill passed in December 2011 will see the CWB lose its long-standing single-desk marketing powers for Prairie wheat, durum, […] Read more
Jury still out on CWB’s new wheat contracts
Tightening canola rotations may pose problems in long run
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie farmers are expected to plant record canola acres this spring as the crop looks very profitable, but the tighter rotations may lead to other agronomic issues in the long run, according to crop specialists. After seeding a record 18.9 million acres of canola in 2011, Canadian farmers are poised to shatter that record in […] Read more
Durum acres set to rise, but canola competing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers in the prime durum-growing area of southern Saskatchewan are expected to seed more of the crop this spring, but competition from canola may sway some last-minute plantings, according to an elevator manager in southern Saskatchewan. While there may be some apprehension over the changes to the marketing system for durum in Western Canada with […] Read more
Prairie seeding still a month away
Reading Time: 2 minutes Warm and dry weather conditions seen across Western Canada this winter may be leading to some talk of an earlier-than-normal start to spring seeding. However, crop specialists in the three Prairie provinces say weather over the next month will play a key role in determining when producers actually get out on their fields. The lack […] Read more
Prairie shortline railways look ahead to new reality
Reading Time: 3 minutes The looming end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk for marketing wheat, durum, and barley in Western Canada on Aug. 1 may lead to changes to the shortline railways in the region. The shortlines predominantly move CWB grains, but industry participants expressed confidence in their viability and the continued use of producer rail cars […] Read more
Prairie farmland demand strong
Reading Time: 2 minutes Optimism in the agricultural sector has many Prairie farmers looking to add to their land-base this spring. That strong demand, together with a lack of willing sellers, is causing land prices to continue to move higher across Western Canada, according to real estate agents specializing in farmland. "There seems to be new people every day […] Read more
European rapeseed problems support canola
Reading Time: < 1 minute Adverse weather conditions in Europe this winter will likely cut into rapeseed production in the region, which would provide some indirect support for the Canadian canola market. "Any loss in Europe would tighten up world supplies… which would support our prices," said Chris Beckman, oilseed analyst with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s market analysis division in […] Read more
Grain World: Pooling, other options discussed for Prairie wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian farmers will be marketing their wheat, durum and barley in an open market for the first time in generations with the end of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) single desk at the start of the 2012-13 crop year on Aug. 1. Some farmers may choose to continue marketing their wheat through new voluntary […] Read more
GrainWorld: Which wheat futures are best?
Reading Time: 2 minutes The end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk for marketing western Canadian wheat, due Aug. 1, is expected to create an increased need for a viable futures market to manage risk and aid in price discovery. To that end, representatives of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) and ICE Futures […] Read more
Dreyfus bullish on Canadian canola
Reading Time: < 1 minute Solid demand and tightening supplies will require a considerable increase in Canadian canola acres this spring, Louis Dreyfus’ Canadian canola trading manager told a conference here Monday. "We truly require 21 million acres to meet the demand," Tracy Lussier of Louis Dreyfus Canada told the Wild Oats Grainworld conference. That would be up by more […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
