Canadian grain shippers are worried CN Rail’s plan to boost profits and avoid a shakeup in the executive suite could result in poorer service. “Even though (grain shipping) demand is a bit down (due to a smaller crop) they (CN) started rationing last week and their order fulfilment, especially out of Alberta is dropping,” Greg
Turmoil at CN making Canadian grain shippers nervous
Hedge fund is threatening to oust the railway’s senior management
Will crop insurance values reflect jump in crop prices?
Values set for 2021, before the market rally, are inadequate in today’s environment, some say
After close to a year of high grain prices, Warren McCutcheon expects they should be reflected in the crop values used to calculate crop insurance payouts in 2022. “We’ve seen these prices sustained here for almost a year now so if crop insurance comes out with $4.50 corn and $8 wheat guys are going to
Study says billions hang in the balance on fertilizer use
But others say cutting fertilizer-related emissions doesn’t necessarily mean lower yields
A recent study says cutting fertilizer use to fight climate change could cost farmers almost $48 billion in lost revenue. Commissioned by Fertilizer Canada, the Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) report says reducing fertilizer use by 20 per cent between 2023 and 2030 will significantly lower yields of crops like corn, canola and spring wheat. The findings are
Avoiding the grain contract blues
Delivery contracts aren’t the only game in town when it comes to managing price risk
The old saying goes “you’ll never go broke selling crops for a profit,” — but you could be in a financial pickle if you don’t deliver what you sold. That hard financial reality has put the long tradition of forward pricing contracts under the microscope this year. It’s prompting questions about the responsibility farmers and
Futures options by the numbers
Options might seem costly, but they’re more flexible and can be cheaper in the end
The cost of using options to lock in a floor price for crops is tied to the floor price. The higher the floor price, the higher the cost of what is essentially an insurance premium. If a farmer pays, say, $1 a bushel to lock in a minimum canola price of $16 a bushel, the
Manitoba yields down, but still ahead of Saskatchewan, Alberta
StatsCan cut Manitoba yield estimates for most crops in its Sept. 14 report, but raised soybeans and corn yields
Statistics Canada’s latest estimate of Manitoba crop yields are down for most crops, with two main exceptions: soybeans and grain corn. As in its previous report, StatsCan expects most Manitoba crops will yield better than those in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Still, while some experts say these latest yield estimates are likely closer to reality than
NISA inventor, Bob Hopley passes
That, and his other work led to Hopley’s induction into Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame
Bob Hopley, a farmer from Oak River, and the brains behind the creation of the Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA), which evolved into today’s AgriInvest risk management program, passed away Aug. 25 at the age of 87. “Bob had a mind second to none in terms of figuring things out,” his longtime friend and veteran
Grain industry wrestles with unfulfilled grain contracts
Because of drought some farmers sold more grain than they grew and face big bills to buy back their contracts
Farmers who contracted to deliver a portion of this year’s crop at a specific price but can’t fill it because drought cut production have a problem. Depending on the contract they are obliged to either find the equivalent grain elsewhere and deliver it, or pay the grain company what it costs to acquire the grain.
The missing link: Inside the shipping container crisis
Stuck between a shipping cartel and COVID, Canada’s pulse industry risks becoming landlocked
For many years the Prairie pulse sector revolved around an orderly flow of shipping containers. They moved out of manufacturing hubs like southern China stuffed with consumer goods of all sorts, to ports in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. There they were emptied, and loaded again with outbound goods — in this case pulse crops like
The container shortage impact on Manitoba pulse and soybean growers
A container shortage isn’t hurting Manitoba pulse growers yet, but left unresolved it could. “If everything is backed up it will eventually back up to the farm, Daryl Domitruk, Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers’ executive director, said in an interview Aug. 31. “So this thing really has implications for the pulse world.” The impact could
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