
Author Archives

Demand and prices up beyond expectations at cattle sales
Wet weather is limiting cattle traffic to the U.S. Midwest
The cattle market in Manitoba has been busy since the start of the New Year, with prices surprising in some cases, according to a buyer. “We’ve seen since Christmastime a significant increase in the culled cow prices, the Canadian packers have upped their cow kill by quite a bit and demand was considerably stronger than

China tensions add layer of uncertainty to canola
An ongoing lack of USDA data further fuzzes the outlook
At first glance it seems quiet in the ICE Futures canola market. It’s winter, cold out and there’s not much happening. But below the surface it’s more than meets the eye. The ICE Futures canola market finished the week of Jan. 18 slightly higher after dipping during the middle of the week. The Chicago Board

CBOT weekly outlook: Brazil, China drive U.S. commodities
With little data filtering out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), news from Brazil and trade negotiations with China are currently driving futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). “It’s Brazilian weather over there and the Chinese negotiations, which sometimes are on and sometimes aren’t,” said Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils, peas get new profile as protein source
Health Canada has unveiled its new food guide, which switches the focus from portion sizes to a balanced diet and includes protein from sources like peas and lentils. For the Canadian pulse crop industry, it’s a narrative they’ve been sharing for years. The new Canada’s Food Guide is “also sort of a realization that there

Feed weekly outlook: Prairie prices stable during mild winter
With the mild winter Western Canada has been experiencing, feed grain buyers expect prices should stay quiet for the next while. “I would say the buyers have adequate coverage for January, February, even a bit of March. And I would say we maybe have seen the (barley) price soften up a bit,” said Nelson Neumann,

Prairie wheat bids dragged down by rallying loonie
Minneapolis and Kansas City March wheat futures were both down on the week
Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly weaker for the week ended Jan. 11, as a stronger Canadian dollar weighed on prices. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down, falling $3-$4 per tonne, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and

ICE weekly outlook: Quiet winter has canola steadying
CNS Canada — The ICE Futures canola market is expected to stabilize now as there isn’t really any big news to drive North American oilseed markets. “We don’t have something very dominant for traders to focus on and supplies are pretty comfortable everywhere in the oilseed complex for now… the only factor that has hurt

Ag seen gaining on slightly weaker loonie in 2019
CNS Canada — Farm Credit Canada (FCC) predicts the Canadian dollar will spend the year around the 75-U.S. cent mark — slightly softer than last year’s average of 76. “We’re going to see volatility throughout the year obviously but when we look at that season, or the full year average, we’re looking for it to

Nutrien merger’s effects ongoing a year later
CNS Canada — After clearing their regulatory hurdles, Canada’s Agrium and PotashCorp merged at the start of 2018 to become the world’s largest fertilizer company, Nutrien. The partner companies had made various promises at the time and many in Western Canada were cautious, hoping for the best but not fully knowing what to expect. A

Canadian dollar’s holiday rally lifts ICE canola futures
A lack of USDA data leaves traders ‘buying the rumour’
The ICE canola futures market spent the holiday season like it usually does, paying attention to goings-on south of the border. However, near the end of the two-week holiday period, canola broke out on its own due to a rally in the Canadian dollar. The holidays were kicked off by a partial U.S. government shutdown,
With roots going back to 1925, each weekly issue of the Manitoba Co-operator contains production, marketing and policy news selected for relevance to crops and livestock producers in Manitoba.