Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Minneapolis wheat suggests protein will be in short supply

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts trended higher for the past two weeks, despite seasonal harvest pressure, although the bigger picture remains sideways and rangebound. The November contract briefly traded above the 200-day moving average of $497 per tonne on Sept. 22, on the back of some fund buying triggered by a rally in Chicago soybeans.


Demonstrators pull a wooden model of the Trojan Horse during a protest against the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) in front of the Parliament in Vienna, Austria on the eve of the deal coming into provisional effect.

CETA takes effect as ag frets details

Significant barriers remain to any real progress in accessing 
the European market for food products

With a flurry of press releases and a ceremony at the Port of Montreal, a new chapter in Canada’s economic history has begun to unfold as Canada’s trade deal with Europe came into effect. The Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) took provisional effect Sept. 21, even as the third round of the NAFTA renegotiations kicked off

Health Canada had no herbicide drift complaints from Manitoba

That includes the herbicide dicamba, which has triggered many drift complaints in the U.S.

Health Canada has not received any herbicide drift complaints in Manitoba this season, including related to dicamba, André Gagnon, a media relations officer serving Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, said in an email Sept. 12. That contrasts sharply with the United States where the University of Missouri says 3.1 million acres


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks Aug. 23, 2017 at a Montreal charity event. (PM.gc.ca)

NAFTA talks resume in Mexico City

Mexico City | Reuters — Trade negotiators from Canada and the U.S. gathered under rainy skies in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the mood darkened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to pull out. Teams from the three countries were due to kick off a second

First NAFTA renegotiating session concludes in a swirl of rumours

First NAFTA renegotiating session concludes in a swirl of rumours

There was little concrete coming out of the first round of bargaining

The first round of NAFTA renegotiations has produced a guarded statement from the three countries and a swirl of rumours about what was discussed and what might emerge in the coming weeks. Held in Washington in mid-August, the meetings saw trade representatives from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. reopen the trade pact for the first


Poultry boards not letting their guard down as NAFTA preparations begin

Poultry boards not letting their guard down as NAFTA preparations begin

The U.S. has a healthy trade surplus with Canada for eggs and poultry

Dairy may be getting all the attention in the upcoming NAFTA negotiations, but the chicken, egg and turkey boards aren’t letting their guard down as talks begin in mid-August. “The government has been clear in its support for supply management and we are confident it will continue to support and protect supply management during the negotiations

cattle in a feedlot

Fed cattle supplies hold back prices at auctions

Dry Prairie pastures elsewhere might spur action soon

Cattle markets are going through seasonal doldrums as large numbers of fed cattle are weighing down prices. Brian Perillat, a senior analyst at Canfax, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s market information firm, said fed cattle have been under pressure since the price fall-off this spring. “The U.S. and Canada, we’re killing as many cattle as we


Editorial: Preparing for an uncertain future

It’s a hot, dry summer on the Prairies, so much so that farmers farther west have started to harvest their cereal crops for livestock feed. A heat wave nicknamed “Lucifer” is scorching much of Europe this summer and climate change experts are suggesting these are a greater threat to human life in the short term

Forecast: Warm weather to build back in

Issued August 14, 2017: Covering the period from August 16 to August 23

Even though I had to create the forecast early last week I was still able to pull off a reasonably accurate one. I would love to take full credit for that, but sometimes you just get lucky. After all, I am just reading weather models and trying to pick which models are doing the best