MarketsFarm — While fears over the newly-identified Omicron COVID-19 variant caused a sharp downturn Friday in oil and equities, crop prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were not as hard hit. “This new COVID-19 variant has got some traders spooked in the market here in thinking there might be some economic slowdown and
CBOT weekly outlook: Markets ‘resilient’ in face of Omicron
Prairie winter weather a sign of La Nina repeat
Full effects won't be seen for a while yet
MarketsFarm — December marks the start of what meteorologists call “meteorological winter” — and this winter, the Pacific Ocean phenomenon known as La Nina may be rearing its head once again. La Nina (Spanish for “little girl”) is a climate pattern detected over the Pacific every few years where cooler water pools at the equator
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices steady to lower despite supply cuts
Lentil crop smallest in almost a decade
MarketsFarm — Just like many other crops in Western Canada, lentil production was cut sharply due to this year’s drought. Canada’s lentil crop was reduced by 37.2 per cent to 1.802 million tonnes for the 2021-22 marketing year, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) principal crop estimates from Friday. The total represents Canada’s lowest
CBOT weekly outlook: Soybean purchases steal wheat’s thunder
MarketsFarm — While Chicago wheat is hitting new contract highs, soybeans are the standout commodity on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to one trader. Over the weekend, there were rumblings that China had purchased five cargoes worth of soybeans earlier in the week. Three nights later, that number had grown, which caused soybean
Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic
MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver.
Prairie cash wheat: Bids jump after USDA projects cuts
MarketsFarm — A larger-than-expected cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest supply and demand forecast, plus rising wheat futures in anticipation of tighter worldwide supply, led to higher bids for western Canadian wheat for the week ended Thursday. USDA on Tuesday trimmed world wheat ending stocks to 275.8 million tonnes, down 1.38 million
Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba dry beans dip in yields, prices
MarketsFarm — This year’s dry bean harvest in Manitoba has only produced about two-thirds of an average annual yield, according to the province’s expert on pulses. Dennis Lange, pulse specialist for the Manitoba government at Altona, said all but a few acres have come off the fields. Due to drought conditions this summer, however, the
Mustard supply crunch fuels price spikes
MarketsFarm – As the world’s largest producer of mustard, a sharp decline in Canadian production has already made a major impact on supply and prices. Despite an increase in seeded acres, Canada’s mustard production dropped 28 per cent to 71,000 tonnes for the 2021-22 marketing year, according to Statistics Canada’s September crop report. Of the
Feed weekly outlook: U.S. corn filling Canadian feed shortages
MarketsFarm – As winter approaches, corn is making up a greater appearance in feed channels, supplanting barley and wheat in the process. “In Western Canada, the yields were significantly lower than average. So we’re importing a lot of feed into Western Canada, mostly corn and corn with DDGs (dried distillers’ grains),” said Allen Pirness, manager
Pulse weekly outlook: Winter price movement awaits chickpeas after harvest
MarketsFarm – Just like nearly all crops in Western Canada, chickpeas were not immune to drought conditions causing reduced yields. Approximately 64,000 tonnes of chickpeas were grown across the country for the 2021-22 marketing year, compared to the 214,000 tonnes grown in the previous year, according to last month’s production report from Agriculture and Agri-Food
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