MarketsFarm — Canada is looking at another small mustard crop in 2021, which should keep prices well supported for any unpriced crop, as recent heat stress cut into yields. “That was a very rough week,” said Walter Dyck, the Alberta-based general manager with Wisconsin mustard-processor Olds Products, on the late June/early July heat wave that […] Read more

Hot weather cuts into Canadian mustard crop
Price increases already noted

Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan crops fight off record heat
MarketsFarm — The “heat dome” which enveloped Western Canada last week delivered a blow to Saskatchewan’s pulse crops. Thirty-four temperature records were shattered on Friday, including those at Regina, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Weyburn and Yorkton. Saskatoon and Lucky Lake, northeast of Swift Current, were the province’s hot spots that day at 40 C. Nine […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn limit down as crop weather improves
Market retreats from rallies last week
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures sank by the daily limit on Tuesday as forecasts for cooler, wetter U.S. weather eased concerns about unfavourable crop conditions. Prices pulled back after climbing 12 per cent last week on lower-than-anticipated U.S. plantings estimates from the Department of Agriculture. The estimates made the market […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle futures jump as grain costs tumble
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures climbed on Tuesday as a steep slide in grain prices made animal feed costs look cheaper, traders said. Traders are keeping a close eye on the grain markets after supply fears drove prices to eight-year highs during the spring. Corn and soy futures surged last […] Read more

Olymel strike talks delayed to mid-month, union says
Quebec hog plant's workers on strike since late April
A two-months-and-counting strike at a major Quebec hog slaughter and processing plant is expected to continue through to mid-July at the earliest due to scheduling issues, the workers’ union says. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN — which represents over 1,000 striking workers at Olymel’s plant Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City — […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder market calm but firm
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were unchanged. Most auction markets were closed due to Canada Day. It’s been a busy spring period; there is no doubt about it. Pastures are quickly deteriorating under the intense heat and many ranchers will sell yearlings 30-45 days sooner than normal. The good news is […] Read more

More upgrades planned for Nestle ice cream plant
Two more production lines to be added
The southwestern Ontario plant supplying Haagen-Dazs, Real Dairy and Drumstick ice cream and Parlour frozen desserts across Canada is set for another $41.3 million expansion, including two new production lines. Nestle Canada said June 23 it expects to break ground in September for a 26,600-square foot expansion of its London, Ont. plant with “additional buildings, […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat bids spike
Durum bids up moderately
MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada for the week ended Thursday spiked sharply for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats, while gains for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) were much more subdued. Steep increases in U.S. wheat markets supported values — as did the Canadian dollar, by losing […] Read more

B.C. presses for ranchers to register before wildfires hit
Premises ID helps protect livestock in emergencies, province says
British Columbia’s provincial ag ministry hopes to shore up ranchers’ participation in the Premises Identification program against the risk of further wildfires this year. About two-thirds, or 5,200, of B.C.’s non-supply managed livestock producers, and all the supply-managed dairy cattle and poultry premises in the province, are registered in the program, the province said Wednesday. […] Read more

Maple Leaf to buy four Saskatchewan hog barns
Pork processor plans future upgrades
Two sow barns and two nursery hog barns in central Saskatchewan are set to become the property of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday it plans to buy the four barns from Polar Pork, a group of farms spearheaded by members of the Possberg family — well known as the founding […] Read more