Insights and Stories of Phil Franz-Warkentin

Mustard has room to the upside

Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:49 pm CDT

A smaller-than-expected mustard crop in Western Canada this year should keep values well supported going forward, especially as end-users look to secure supplies through the spot market, according to an industry official. Yellow mustard and brown mustard bids have some room to the upside, as a number of end-users are […]

Flax sector slowly recovers from Day of the Triffids

Oct. 10, 2012 at 11:26 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

StatsCan confirms surprisingly small canola crop

Oct. 4, 2012 at 1:53 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Smaller canola crop expected from StatsCan

Oct. 4, 2012 at 3:51 am CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Fund traders exit canola longs

Oct. 1, 2012 at 5:22 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Canola crush margins tightening

Sep. 25, 2012 at 5:13 pm CDT

Canola crushers in Western Canada are having a tougher time bringing in feedstock supplies from farmers, and will likely be forced to operate with tighter profit margins going forward, according to market participants. A sell-off in the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) soybean complex, together with uncertainty in the Prairie […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Minnesota canola crusher creates new delivery option

Sep. 18, 2012 at 12:32 am CDT

A new canola crusher at Hallock, Minn., just south of the Canadian border, is operating at full capacity or above and is providing a good opportunity for farmers with canola to sell in both the US and Canada. The Northstar Agri Industries facility started initial operations in May and was […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Canola exports picking up steam

Sep. 12, 2012 at 8:27 am CDT

New-crop canola supplies currently finding their way into the commercial pipeline in western Canada are helping set the stage for another record export program for the commodity. "It’s expected to be fairly busy, and I don’t see anything that would change that," said Lach Coburn, west coast manager of shipping […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Sunflowers bounce back in Manitoba

Sep. 10, 2012 at 5:43 pm CDT

Manitoba farmers will start bringing in this year’s sunflower crop by mid-September, and early reports point to a large, good-quality crop that will help replenish supplies in the province. After planting only 35,000 acres of sunflowers in 2011, due to adverse spring conditions, area in the province bounced back in […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Strong prices lure chickpeas back to Sask.

Jun. 6, 2012 at 5:25 am CDT

Saskatchewan farmers are expected to more than double the area planted to chickpeas in the province this year, as improving prices made the crop a more attractive option. The acreage increase was “driven by some fairly strong prices for chickpeas relative to where they’ve been the last number of years,” […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin