A possible strike at Canada’s biggest railway is compounding a vexing problem in the second-biggest wheat exporting country — how to move the western crop belt’s abundant harvest to port with a strained transportation system. A dispute between Canadian National Railway and its Teamster-represented railroad conductors and yardmen raises the possibility of a strike or […] Read more
Possible rail strike may further slow huge Prairie crop movement
Big canola yields, imports ease supply concerns for U.S. crushers
Big canola yields in the northern Plains have eased earlier supply concerns for U.S. processors, who also look to tap a bin-busting harvest in Western Canada. U.S. farmers planted 1.3 million acres of canola in 2013, but unfavourable weather prevented them planting the crop on 426,711 acres, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Services […] Read more
Mosaic, PotashCorp disband U.S. phosphate export group
The U.S. phosphate export association PhosChem has disbanded, a spokesman for U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co. said on Wednesday, making it the second fertilizer trade consortium to break up this year. The 39-year-old Phosphate Chemicals Export Association Inc. handled U.S. exports of the crop nutrient on behalf of Mosaic and PotashCorp. Minnesota-based Mosaic, which supplied […] Read more
Agrium warns of lower potash volumes, hikes payout
Fertilizer and ag retail giant Agrium warned its potash volumes are expected to be about 30 per cent lower than normal in the current quarter — but raised its dividend 50 per cent, saying agriculture’s longer-term fundamentals are strong. Potash prices have slipped since mid-summer, when the biggest global producer Uralkali OAO quit its export […] Read more
Canada’s big wheat crop vies with U.S. for export sales
Canada’s biggest wheat crop in more than two decades will send supplies from the No. 2 wheat exporter into unusual places, battling head-on with U.S. wheat, grain traders said. Canadian farmers are expected to harvest 30.6 million tonnes of wheat this autumn, counting all varieties, according to Statistics Canada. Nearly two-thirds of the crop, or […] Read more
Price drop seen unlikely to close higher-cost mines: PotashCorp
A move by top global potash producer Uralkali to quit its export partnership and seek to maximize sales volumes is unlikely to weed out higher-cost producers, the chief financial officer of rival PotashCorp said on Wednesday. Russia’s Uralkali OAO broke up Belarusian Potash Co. (BPC) in July and predicted the price of potash would plummet […] Read more
Uralkali potash plan fails ‘sniff test,’ Mosaic CEO says
Uralkali’s revamped potash marketing plan, focusing on maximizing sales volume rather than price, fails the “economic sniff test,” Mosaic Co. CEO Jim Prokopanko said on Tuesday. Prices of the crop nutrient have slipped since midsummer, when the biggest global producer, Russia’s Uralkali OAO, quit its export partnership with Belaruskali and said it would seek to […] Read more
CBOT soybeans fall two per cent as rain tempers worries
U.S. soybeans fell two per cent on Monday for the second straight session as forecasts for more rain this week eased concerns about declining U.S. harvest prospects and offset a tighter-than-expected supply outlook from the government. Corn slipped on reports of big yields from the early U.S. harvest, adding to a sharp drop since last […] Read more
StatsCan may use satellites, not farmers, to measure crop size
Statistics Canada may scrap one of its annual farmer surveys on crop yields in favour of a report that uses satellite data to estimate production. StatsCan, the national statistical agency, said the satellite data was producing increasingly similar results to its September farmer survey on yields of wheat, canola and other crops, and the change […] Read more
Prairie canola, wheat ripen in ‘ideal’ weather
Western Canada’s canola and wheat crops look to ripen this week in greenhouse-like conditions, weather forecasts show, increasing the chances of bumper crops. Despite delayed spring planting and cool weather earlier in summer that slowed crop development, Canada is set to reap its biggest wheat crop in 22 years and the largest canola harvest ever, […] Read more
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