Reading Time: 2 minutes As the global oil market continued to ready itself for 2024, one analyst stated it’s more likely prices will increase than to drop further. Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group in Chicago said one’s outlook on crude oil is predicated on their economic view.
Volatile oil market most likely to improve says analyst
Israel-Gaza war, Red Sea attacks having less impact than expected
Court remedy sought for unfulfilled contracts
Sask. company claims equipment breakdown at a third-party mill caused it to declare force majeure on contracted oats
Reading Time: 2 minutes More than two dozen farmers are moving ahead with legal action against Purely Canada Foods after it failed to honour contracts for gluten-free oats. The dispute centres on 2022 gluten-free oat contracts. On March 1, 2023, the company sent a letter to the farmers saying it was voiding the contracts because oat processing machinery had failed the previous fall and it couldn’t accept the crop.
Brazil’s soybean harvest kicks off with low yields in Mato Grosso
Crops suffered from lack of humidity; now rains are hampering harvest in some areas
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brazilian soybean farmers have begun to reap their 2023/24 soybean crop, covering some 0.6 per cent of the national planted area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday.
German farmers block roads with tractors in protest at subsidy cuts
Farmers' association DBV expresses concern that far-right activists may exploit the protests for own ends
Reading Time: 2 minutes German farmers blocked roads with tractors on Monday, kicking off a week of protests against plans to phase out agricultural subsidies with nationwide action that ministers have warned could be co-opted by the far-right.
Viterra workers suspend strike to vote on new offer
Workers will be working to rule during the voting period
Reading Time: 2 minutes Today, Grain and General Services Union workers employed by Viterra in Saskatchewan said they will vote on the grain handling company's latest final offer over the next two weeks. Locals 1 and 2, representing country operations and head office staff, respectively, were set to walk out at 2 p.m. today if a deal had not been reached.
Canada’s jobs growth stalls in December as wages accelerate
Declines in goods sector driven by job losses in manufacturing, construction and agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada's economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate remained at 5.8 per cent, but permanent employees' wages increased at the fastest pace in three years, data showed on Friday.
World food price index ends 2023 some ten per cent below 2022 levels
Cereal prices, vegetable oils slumped most over the year, FAO says
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5 per cent from November and 10.1 per cent below December 2022 levels.
German government dilutes 2024 subsidy cuts after farmer backlash
Farmers protested in Berlin's streets after the announced end of tax breaks last month
Reading Time: < 1 minute Germany's coalition government has agreed to change its 2024 budget plans, a government spokesperson said on Thursday, after subsidy cuts proposed to bring spending in line with debt rules angered farmers.
Updated Certified Sustainable Beef Framework released
The program, launched in 2017, came up for its five-year review in 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new and improved Certified Sustainable Beef Framework has been released following its first, five-year review announced the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) today.
Sask. union serves Viterra strike notice
Grain handling giant says its committed to negotiation, but has contingency plans in place
Reading Time: < 1 minute Yesterday, the union issued Viterra a 72-hour notice that they intend to strike as early as 2:00 pm on Jan. 5.
GSU members from Viterra Country Operations and Maintenance and Viterra's Regina head office have been negotiating for "fair wages, improved work-life balance, and workplace respect," for more than a year, the union said.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
