It cost him his ’67 Cougar, and it wasn’t the only time he’d get burned, but Dennis Pashovitz feels his farm emerged stronger for the lesson.

Taking on the market

Options, futures or forward contracts? Two farmers search for sustainable income

Reading Time: 9 minutes Options, futures or forward contracts? Two farmers search for sustainable income Dennis Pashovitz calls it his ’67 Cougar moment. It was the late 1990s and the grain farmer at Arelee, an hour west of Saskatoon, needed cash to open a trading account. The only way to learn about marketing, he was convinced, was to play […] Read more


Using futures and options in uncertain times

AME Management: Every year has its unique events, but with this strategy, farmers can provide profit opportunities that an “ordinary” year simply wouldn’t make available

Reading Time: 4 minutes Already, 2017 has been a year of uncertainty due both to unpredictable weather and political patterns. (We won’t speculate on which is the less predictable!) Uncertainty breeds large amounts of price volatility. Many farmers argue that using futures and options is too hard and carries the risk of cash-flow drains. They prefer to use the […] Read more

ICE Canada canola futures climb for third straight day

ICE Canada canola futures climb for third straight day

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago/Reuters – ICE Canada canola futures climbed on Wednesday for a third straight session, buoyed by a lack of moisture in parts of the Canadian Prairies and spillover strength from U.S. soyoil values, traders said. November canola rose $5.50 to settle at $511.20 per tonne, and January canola ended up $5.40 at $516.50. Chicago Board […] Read more


(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

National hedging plan weighed for hog farmers

Reading Time: 2 minutes If there’s a way for a national-level hedging program to help Canadian hog farmers limit their exposure to hog price volatility, the national hog industry body aims to find it. The Canadian Pork Council on Friday announced it had picked up $169,530 in federal funding for a feasibility study on developing such a hedging program. […] Read more

(CMEGroup.com)

CME Group to close most open-outcry futures trading pits

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME Group will shutter most of its open-outcry futures pits by July 2, the world’s largest futures market operator said Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on a once-raucous tradition that has been in decline since the rise of computerized trading. The decision ousts traders of products ranging from grain and livestock […] Read more