CWB tries to bring clarity to new open markets

Staff say the more grain it gets the closer it can get to providing the benefits of the soon-to-be-dismantled CWB

The tiny village of Somerset was shrouded in fog March 30, not unlike the outlook for Western Canada’s new open wheat and barley market. More than 80 farmers made their way through the morning mist to hear about the CWB’s new pricing options, which includes two pools and cash offerings. It was the last in

Foreign traders vying for piece of North American grain-handling sector

The urgency to operate in the United States or Canada has grown because of increasing global demand for crops

For decades, the world’s leading grain traders like Cargill and Bunge enjoyed an unparalleled advantage: their smaller North American competitors lacked the flexibility and diversity of a global operation, and their foreign rivals lacked access to the biggest and most stable exporters in the world. That’s about to change. Large U.S. and Canadian grain companies


Richardson International’s rise to share top grain spot

The pending multibillion-dollar sale of Viterra demonstrates the value of patient capital and private ownership, says Richardson International president Curt Vossen. Last week publicly traded Viterra, Canada’s largest grain company, announced it was selling to the world’s No. 1 diversified commodities trader, Swiss-based Glencore, for $16.1 billion. But in a move believed aimed at getting

The virtues of patient capital

The story of the Prairie grain co-operatives is certainly one for the business books. Starting from nothing in 1923, by 1929 the Pools through the Central Selling Agency had the largest sales of any business in Canada. A year later it collapsed, but the Pools rose again as handling companies, and along with UGG, dominated


Food companies poised to profit as production rebounds

The world’s farmers are poised for a year of plenty in 2012 after last year’s weather-related disasters, and prospects of lower grain prices from bumper harvests could offer relief to the battered bottom lines of grain and food companies. Food and beverage companies like Sara Lee, PepsiCo and General Mills have struggled to absorb high

New ICE wheat contract will struggle

The outlook for the new ICE Future Canada’s wheat futures market isn’t great, according to Neil Townsend, the Canadian Wheat Board’s North American market analyst. The long-running spring wheat futures market in Minneapolis didn’t get enough business before the Winnipeg market launched in January, he said. As a result, Minneapolis wasn’t “liquid” enough — a


Battle of the beta-agonists

One of North America’s largest beef buyers is telling feeders that it wants a little more fat and a little less lean, and is delivering a not-so-subtle hint on their choice of growth promotants to achieve it. “Maximizing performance and efficiencies pre-harvest at the expense of beef taste and tenderness concerns us — it’s not

Rising canola futures find point of resistance

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved higher during the week ended March 16. Concerns about the record pace of usage and the resulting depletion of old-crop canola stocks stimulated some of the upward price action. Chart-related speculative fund buying interest also contributed to the price advances. Much of that buying was


Farmers fear consolidation, not foreigners, in Viterra bid

Reuters / For most of the past year, western Canadian farmers have braced for the rush of competition that will follow the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s 69-year-long monopoly on grain marketing in August. Now, they’re preparing for the possibility of seeing less than expected. The fertile region’s biggest grain handler, Viterra, said March

Chinese sign record-large U.S. soy purchase agreement

A Chinese trade delegation signed deals Feb. 17 to buy a record amount of U.S. soybeans during a visit to the United States at a time when a harsh drought has slashed crops in rival soy exporters in South America. The delegation inked agreements for 13.4 million tonnes valued at $6.7 billion, the U.S. Soybean