Updated, Jan. 24 — A panel tasked with reviewing complaints of changes in Canadian butter’s consistency has found there’s not enough data out there to support those complaints — nor to support the allegation that palm byproducts in cows’ rations were the cause. The Expert Working Group on Feed Supplementation, set up by Dairy Farmers […] Read more
Study finds no data to show change in butter consistency
Not enough data to link to palm supplement use, either
U.S. grains: Corn futures hit highest since June
Soy, wheat fall on profit taking
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures rose to their highest in seven months on Friday as concerns about production in South America spurred demand for U.S. supplies, traders said. Soybean futures eased from the seven-month top they hit on Thursday, succumbing to a round of profit taking. Soybeans closed well above […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures surge to highest in over three months
U.S. cattle counts up from last year
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose 1.5 per cent on Friday to hit their highest since mid-October, extending a rally on technical buying. Traders remained focused on the slaughter rate as COVID-19 disruptions have caused slowdowns at meat processors throughout the month. “The industry still isn’t functioning normally, though the processing […] Read more
Farm cybersecurity campaign seeks farmer input
CSKA online survey open until Feb. 18
Canadian farmers are being asked for their input on a federally-backed project to assess and improve cybersecurity in Canada’s ag sector. The Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, the lead organization on the Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project, has put up a voluntary online survey for farm operators, running until Feb. 18, “to look at […] Read more
Vaccine mandate to lead to inflation, empty shelves, trucking executives say
Parallel mandate for U.S. entry starts Saturday
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian consumers should soon see higher prices and some empty shelves in supermarkets and other retail outlets because of disruptions stemming from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, top trucking executives warned this week. The mandate, imposed by Ottawa to help curb the spread of the virus, has cost six […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans rally, corn flat, wheat falls
Strong cash soybean market supportive
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures surged on Thursday as a combination of rising export hopes, concerns about the South American crop and technical buying pushed prices to a seven-month high, traders said. Corn futures ended close to unchanged after fluctuating between positive and negative territory throughout the session, while wheat […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Status quo for now, but change coming
MarketsFarm — Feed grains in Western Canada have been holding close to the status quo for the last little while, but that’s likely to change, according to Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. He pointed to increases in corn and wheat this week in U.S. futures markets, in which corn has gained about […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures touch highest since mid-October
CME cattle futures down on day
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures jumped to their highest in more than three months on Thursday, supported by strength in the cash markets, traders said. Most actively traded February lean hogs rose 2.625 cents, to 84.925 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The front-month contract closed just below its session peak of 84.975 […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Choppy canola trade expected
Old-crop 'likely pushing the upper limits'
MarketsFarm — A speculative selloff weighed heavily on the ICE Futures canola market during the week ended Wednesday, before the selling subsided and prices regained much of their lost ground. “For prices this high, that’s pretty routine stuff,” said Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg on the $80 per tonne drop in the nearby […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Prices up on hot weather, growing tensions
MarketsFarm — Soybean, corn and wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were all showing some strength Wednesday, recovering from losses posted over the previous week. South American weather concerns and broader geopolitical tensions countered any bearish influence from the latest supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. South America recently received much-needed […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
