A memorial will be held next week for Bob Speller, the Ontario businessman who served as Canada’s agriculture minister in the thick of the country’s BSE crisis. Speller, the MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of what’s now Haldimand-Norfolk from 1988 to 2004, died Thursday at age 65. A cause of death wasn’t given in […] Read more
Former federal agriculture minister Bob Speller, 65
Ontario MP served in Paul Martin's cabinet
‘Atypical’ BSE shows up in Alberta cow
Spontaneous case won't affect Canada's 'negligible risk' status, CFIA says
Updated –– Canada’s first case of BSE since the country achieved “negligible risk” status for the brain-wasting cattle disease isn’t expected to affect trade in Canadian beef. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) of a case of “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures end mixed ahead of USDA data
Chicago cattle close lower, rangebound
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed mixed on Friday, with the front February contract gaining against deferred months as traders squared positions ahead of a quarterly U.S. government hog report due next week, traders said. Most-active February hog futures settled up 0.45 cent at 80.8 cents/lb., while April hogs ended […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy, corn set multi-month highs
South American crop uncertainty, chart-based buying are factors
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures closed higher on Friday, hitting a 2-1/2 month top on worries about South American crop weather coupled with chart-based buying, traders said. Corn futures set a four-month high near $6 a bushel and wheat followed the firm trend (all figures US$). Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans settled […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: Bids show small gains
Minneapolis, K.C. March wheats up on week
MarketsFarm — Growing drought concerns in the U.S. and improved export numbers led to higher bids for western Canadian wheat for the week ended Thursday. However, a mid-week selloff on the futures market held back some gains. The southern U.S. Plains, which are a growing area for hard red winter wheat, have been affected by […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Bids high, but limited supplies mean little moving
MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices in Western Canada remain at very high levels heading into the New Year, but little is actually trading as feedlots fill up with cheaper corn from the U.S. “The volume trading of Canadian feed grains has dropped significantly,” said Jim Beusekom, of Market Place Commodities at Lethbridge, noting about 80 […] Read more
Claas sees more semiconductor chip snags in 2022
'It's going to be a tough next six months'
Paris | Reuters — Agricultural machinery maker Claas said Thursday it expects difficulties in securing semiconductor chips to persist for the first half of next year, which could curb a surge in profits linked to booming farm demand. An upturn in orders from farmers, who are benefiting from high crop prices after several lean years, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans hit three-week top as soyoil climbs
Wheat, corn futures end higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures touched a three-week top on Thursday as soyoil futures rose two per cent and hit their highest in a week on signs of tightening U.S. vegetable oil supplies and fresh export demand, traders said. Wheat futures rose by nearly two per cent, bouncing back from a four per […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures up in thin trade
February live cattle up on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose in thin trade on Thursday to halt a three-session slide, buoyed by firming cash hog markets and higher wholesale pork prices, analysts said. Most-active February hog futures settled up 1.025 cents at 80.35 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Trading volume for all months was estimated […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola futures bend under pressure
MarketsFarm — As the speculative longs for ICE Futures canola keep trying to defend their position, trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg said the pressure on canola continued to build. That’s especially so with declines over the last few weeks in Chicago soyoil, Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed, he said. “No one […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
