The view from GrainWorld

The view from GrainWorld

Most presenters said there are a lot of balls in the air right now, and nobody knows where they will fall

It is definitely one conference not to be missed. Numerous speakers covered various topics although this year it seemed that most things that made me go “hmmm” were in the areas of trade dynamics, political/social factors, marketing and, of course, technology. Political and social factors dominated many of the sessions with suggestions that there will




ICE March 2020 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola stronger at midweek

MarketsFarm — Canola was “well supported” at midweek, bolstered by strength in comparable vegetable oils and relative weakness in the Canadian dollar. Chicago soy was underpinned by strong export demand and the expectation that the U.S. and China will sign Phase One of their trade deal next week. However, with heightened geopolitical tension in the



A BASF scientist examines transgenic corn plants. (BASF.com)

China approves two new GM crops from U.S. for import

Beijing | Reuters — China approved two new genetically modified (GM) crops for import on Monday that could boost agricultural purchases from the United States, while renewing permits for 10 others, the Chinese agriculture ministry said. Earlier this month, Beijing and Washington announced a Phase 1 trade deal, under which China has agreed to import


While every year presents its own challenges and opportunities, a number of themes kept reappearing with only slight variations.

Looking back at the decade that was in grain markets

As the ‘teens come to a close, it’s been 10 years of enormous change

The more things change, the more they stay the same.’ There was no shortage of market moving topics to write about over the past decade, from the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board to the rise of tweet-based international diplomacy, but did anything really change? Grain and oilseed prices had their ups and downs, but

Many Manitoba farmers felt the pain of a hard season.

Manitoba farmers challenged by 2019 crop

The worst part was the ‘harvest from hell’, which for some still isn’t over

Too dry, too wet and then it snowed. Lots. That sums up Manitoba’s 2019 growing season, culminating with the “harvest from hell,” which for some farmers won’t end until spring. “I have often said it’s not a good sign when you’re harvesting and they’re playing Christmas carols on the radio,” Minto farmer and Keystone Agricultural



Crops not yet harvested stand out in USDA data

Crops not yet harvested stand out in USDA data

U.S. farmers’ propane supplies are also still coming up short

One noticeable element in the latest world agricultural supply-and-demand estimates (WASDE) released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Dec. 10 was the amount of crops left in the field, especially corn. Much of the report was a rehash of the previous November estimates, as is most often the case. The December WASDE is usually