With canola values on the rise over the past week, crush margins have taken a hit, falling to their lowest point in the current calendar year. Bill Craddock, a southern Manitoba trader and producer, said this has been a bad week for those in the crushing sector. “There has been strength in the canola, relative […] Read more
Crush margins hit lowest point of 2011
Lack of demand hurts lentils
Lentil prices have been steady to lower across Western Canada for about the last month, thanks to a lack of global demand for Canadian product. Darren Lemieux of Simpson Seeds at Moose Jaw, Sask., said a number of usual buyers are busy producing their own crops, and consequently are not in the market. “The world’s […] Read more
Yellow peas decline along with India frost fears
After reaching levels as high as $8 per bushel earlier this year, yellow pea prices have taken a tumble of late, as speculation of frost damage to India’s crop was not as severe as originally thought. “The frost thoughts in India were absolutely overdone. There was some damage done, but it certainly wasn’t a complete […] Read more
Japan places tender for Canadian wheat
Producers wondering whether the earthquake disaster in Japan would delay or halt grain exports to the country got an answer Tuesday as the Asian nation placed an order for high-protein Canadian wheat. Maureen Fitzhenry, spokesperson for the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg, said it appears to be business as usual with Japan, at least for […] Read more
Producers balk at locking in mustard contracts
With some uncertainty around agricultural markets thanks to unrest in the Middle East, a number of mustard producers intend to wait and see what prices do, as opposed to locking in new crop contracts. Tom Halpenny, CEO with Mustard Capital Inc. at Gravelbourg, Sask., said values have been moving higher over the past couple of […] Read more
Crush margins dependent on outside markets
After falling a week or two ago, canola crush margins have seen a rebound, thanks to an increase in ICE Futures Canada canola contracts, along with soybean and soyoil contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Bill Craddock, a trader and producer in southern Manitoba, said where the crush margins go has a lot […] Read more
GrainWorld: Pork market dependent on grain prices
Canadian pork producers are starting to see a return to profitability, but it’s too early to tell if they are completely out of the woods yet. That’s according to Richard Anderson, executive vice-president of Informa Economics in Memphis, Tenn., who spoke Tuesday at the Canadian Wheat Board’s annual GrainWorld conference in Winnipeg. On the positive […] Read more
Oat market dropping on speculative activity
The recent sell-off of agricultural commodities has not left oats out of its path, as values have been on the decline over the past month. Current elevator deliveries for oats are bringing as much as $3.24 per bushel in Manitoba, $3.22 per bushel in Saskatchewan, and $3.39 per bushel in Alberta, according to Prairie Ag […] Read more
Durum prices trend higher thanks to Middle East
Nations in the Middle East and North Africa have long been the leaders in importing durum wheat, and despite the political unrest in many countries in the area, imports have not slowed down. Bruce Burnett, director of market analysis with the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg, said the upheaval in the area has caused some […] Read more
Large, poor-quality lentil stocks to weigh on values
While nearly all crops in Canada saw a loss in stocks from the same time one year ago, lentils were an exception, and a large exception at that. Large supplies, together with the fact much of the stocks are of poorer quality, should weigh on prices and lead to fewer acres this spring. According to […] Read more
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