There are a lot of changes underway that will have significant impacts on the future of our grain buying and ag retail business. This is my second column on the Canadian grain scene. Viterra/Glencore We know the history behind Viterra/Glencore’s evolution from the days of the Prairie Pools to today’s corporate entity known as Viterra. […] Read more
Canada’s ever-changing grain scene
Understanding Market Bulls and Bears: Keep your eye on the changes underway in Canada’s grain and ag retail industries
The new G3’s cross-Canada future
Understanding Market Bulls and Bears: Brian Wittal sees the new CWB as a strong competitor in the Canadian grain industry
In 2012 the CWB’s monopoly powers were stripped away. Over the next couple of years the new entity purchased or entered into joint ventures with producer-owned grain handling facilities and built a number of new concrete facilities across the Prairies to try to remain a relevant player in the grain handling and marketing business in […] Read more
Keep your eyes on the dollar
Prairie farmers should care about the current state of world currencies in the world market
The past two years have seen some major political and economic shifts around the world. The Russia/Ukraine standoff in the Crimean region resulted in economic embargoes and sanctions against Russia. This threw a major kink into trade in that region, causing serious economic hardships. It caused internal inflationary pressures to build, devaluing the Russian ruble […] Read more
Production, profitability and protection
The paper side of farming: A successful farm needs to turn a profit every year
Over the past few months we have seen a number of events unfold around the world that have sent grain markets tumbling, some to four-year lows. Devaluation of the Chinese Yuan, and subsequent sell off in the Chinese stock markets, 10-year lows in oil prices and a six-year low for the Canadian dollar. Overall, across […] Read more
We’re in weather market madness
Weather drives grain markets. And this year, weather is also driving farmers to distraction
We have had another summer of weather extremes. It started in May with dry weather across the Prairies and parts of the U.S. plains, and excessive rains across large U.S. grain-growing regions. June brought hot, dry spells across the Prairies. Then we topped it off with rain, hail and tornados in July — almost the prefect recipe […] Read more
Farm management: Getting from good to great
Farming is a numbers game. Make sure you make the most of the details on your farm
In March, I spent four days traveling from Grande Prairie to Lethbridge as part of the Leading Edge Farm Management series sponsored by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and I had the good fortune to be in the company of some very accomplished individuals. Dr. Danny Klinefelter from Texas A+M University who, I would say, […] Read more
Farmers need a simpler grain pricing system
Building U.S. currency conversions into the basis complicates price comparisons. There may be a simpler way
Since my last two articles on wheat basis calculations I have had some interesting conversations with producers and industry people alike. One call in particular from a gentleman who works in the grain industry in Eastern Canada was very enlightening. Apparently my article was forwarded to him by one of his co-workers at a facility […] Read more
Understanding today’s wheat basis
It’s not always simple to calculate the true basis these days. Here’s an example
In my previous article I was remiss in detailing the fact that there are costs for freight, elevation and handling that must be accounted for within the wheat basis that the grain companies post. To clarify a few things I am going to do a complete calculation of price, costs and basis levels starting with […] Read more
How to feed 9 billion people
In this second part of a two-part instalment, Brian Wittal looks at how we can feed a growing world population
This is a continuation of last week’s column about how we can feed a world with nine billion people in fifty years. As I noted last week, 30 per cent of the world’s food production is wasted. Resolving this would go a long way toward feeding the expected increase in population over the next 50 […] Read more
Feeding the world’s masses
With a growing population, the world, and China, will need more food
Can we feed nine billion people in the next 50 years? This was the question posed by Dr. Lutz Goedde at FarmTech in Edmonton in January. Some of the statistics Geodde presented to explain his answer were interesting to say the least. In the next 50 years, the world is going to have to cumulatively […] Read more
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