Insights and Stories on Markets

Mar. 30, 2012 at 3:09 pm CDT

The sign-up period is officially underway for wheat, durum and malting barley growers wanting to get in on the refurbished CWB’s new-crop pool and cash contracts. The CWB on Thursday (March 29) opened the new-crop pools and programs for the 2012-13 crop year, which begins Aug. 1. "Farmers can rely […]

Mar. 30, 2012 at 5:21 am CDT

Consolidation of "back-office functions," streamlining of operations, reduction of costs and shedding of assets are on the agenda over the next three years in Canada’s agriculture ministry. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, releasing the Conservative government’s 2012 budget on Thursday, announced plans that will see the federal agriculture portfolio’s overall annual […]

Mar. 29, 2012 at 11:05 pm CDT

The Canadian arm of ag market research firm Informa Economics will handle the Saskatchewan government’s review of the proposed takeover of Viterra. The province on Thursday announced it has hired Informa’s Winnipeg office to conduct a "thorough analysis" of the proposed $6.1 billion acquisition of the Regina-based grain handler. The […]

Mar. 29, 2012 at 11:01 pm CDT

The established hierarchy of the global agricultural market is in flux amid the sector’s largest wave of consolidation in over a decade, with new firms challenging the decades-long dominance of the four big firms. Swiss commodity giant Glencore’s deal to buy Canada’s Viterra for over $6 billion will give it […]

Mar. 28, 2012 at 5:30 pm CDT

Farmers in the prime durum-growing area of southern Saskatchewan are expected to seed more of the crop this spring, but competition from canola may sway some last-minute plantings, according to an elevator manager in southern Saskatchewan. While there may be some apprehension over the changes to the marketing system for […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin