Insights and Stories of Rod Nickel

Oct. 8, 2014 at 6:11 pm CDT

Reuters — Soybeans slipped on Wednesday on rising expectations of a huge U.S. harvest and spread trading against corn. Corn rose on short-covering ahead of a key U.S. government crop report, while technical buying bolstered Chicago wheat. Spread trading between corn and soybeans accelerated soybeans’ declines, as the trade assumed […]

By Rod Nickel

Sep. 30, 2014 at 6:10 pm CDT

Reuters –– Mosaic Co., the world’s largest maker of finished phosphate products, said Tuesday it will reduce phosphate output, and it dampened sales expectations. The U.S. fertilizer producer said the curtailment, due to the high costs of raw materials sulfur and ammonia, is not expected to result in worker layoffs. […]

By Rod Nickel

Sep. 24, 2014 at 2:27 pm CDT

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian fertilizer companies PotashCorp and Agrium are bracing for a pullback in demand from U.S. farmers due to sliding crop prices, but say any slump is unlikely to be severe. The prospect for a record-large U.S. corn crop has dragged Chicago nearby corn futures to a […]

By Rod Nickel

Sep. 22, 2014 at 4:18 pm CDT

Winnipeg | Reuters –– Beer prices in North America may rise next year as brewers and maltsters face higher costs after cold, wet weather damaged Canadian barley crops and left farmers and tipplers crying in their beer. Canada, the world’s second-biggest exporter of malting barley, was already harvesting its smallest […]

By Rod Nickel

Sep. 17, 2014 at 4:32 pm CDT

Reuters — Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp, the world’s second-biggest potash producer, is recalling workers at some of its Canadian mines as it gears up for a possible rise in production in 2015, a senior executive said Wednesday. The company cut its workforce by 18 per cent in December, including about 570 workers […]

By Rod Nickel