Photo: Thinkstock

How El Niño threatens emerging market economies

Significant changes to rainfall, or prolonged droughts, could also impact hydropower output, boost food, fuel prices

London | Reuters – Countries around the world are battling heatwaves and floods fueled by El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that has a 90 per cent probability of persisting in the second half of 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The worldwide impact can be enormous, but the stakes are higher for […] Read more

Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: lentils poised to go either way pricewise 

Everything is dependent on the yields come harvest says analyst

MarketsFarm – Before the harvest of lentils gets underway across the Canadian Prairies, there has been some speculation as to which way prices could go, according to Levon Sargsyan of Johnston’s Grain.  “Of the two stories I’m getting, one is from farmers, and one is from buyers, and of course there’s bias,” Sargsyan commented.  “[The […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Bunge reportedly ready to replace CEO

Reuters — Bunge Ltd. is preparing to replace its CEO Soren Schroder as the global grains trader faces investor pressure, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. The company is expected to announce the CEO’s departure in the coming days, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The grains trader was […] Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington on June 18. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)

Trump’s tariff war threatens to erode support of farmers

Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump’s tariff battle with key buyers of U.S. apples, soybeans and corn threatens the support of some of his biggest backers — U.S. farmers now seeing their livelihoods in jeopardy. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2016 election, welcoming how he championed rural economies and vowed to repeal estate […] Read more


farm equipment seeding

Review pre-signed contracts after seeding

Once your crop is in the ground, revise your marketing plan to suit 2017 conditions

Last spring I wrote about the dry spring weather and how to set up a marketing plan that would work for your farm regardless of what the weather did for the rest of the year. Now I’ll continue with that theme but with somewhat of a twist. It’s certainly not dry like it was last […] Read more

grain bins and barley field

Would your farm pass the stress test?

When you pencil out 
your farm budgets, 
calculate some “what if” 
scenarios as well

New provincial guidelines for estimating 2017 crop production costs are being released across the Prairies. These guidelines can help producers predict their operating costs, breakeven yields and profitability. Producers should also be doing a “stress test” to see how much deviation from those predictions the farm can actually bear without losing money, is the advice […] Read more


Farmer walking toward combine.

Make sure your farm is competitive

Prairie farmers are going to have to stay on the ball to remain profitable in today’s markets

After some of my recent articles (see links at the right hand column of your screen) talking about what is happening around the world in primary agricultural production — which countries are leading the way and who we in Western Canada are going to have to compete against in the world markets — I have had […] Read more

Getting better at what you do is the first step.

Staying competitive in a new world

Production is up in the Former Soviet Union and South America. Are you ready?

Up until about the last decade the advantage North American farmers had over those in Russia, Ukraine and South America was the use of machinery, technology, genetics and agronomics to produce higher yields. This kept per acre costs low enough to generate profits. Over the last 10 years farming in these other regions has caught […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Fertilizer prices look to rise by late summer

CNS Canada — A rise in prices for soybeans and other crops could make fertilizer more expensive in the coming months, according to a major player in the industry. In the May market report from the Mosaic Co., the company credited the rally in agricultural commodity prices, the strengthening of key currencies and various Indian […] Read more