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CWB - Pool Return Outlooks - 2010-11 crop year
March 24, 2011-- The CWB today released its latest Pool Return Outlook (PRO) for the 2010-11 crop year. Wheat values are down by $1 to $10 per tonne from last month's PRO, while projections for milling-durum returns have declined by $16 to $18 per tonne. Both feed barley and designated barley values remain unchanged from last month's outlook.
Wheat - Global wheat supplies are trending towards becoming burdensome once again. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate for March, increasing wheat production projections to 648 million tonnes and, more significantly, increasing projections for ending stocks to 182 million tonnes. The current projection for the world stocks-to-use ratio is 27 per cent. In comparison, the world corn stocks-to-use ratio is projected at 15 per cent. Thus, while global wheat stocks are declining by 15 million tonnes in 2010-11, this production level should not create serious concern regarding overall world wheat supply.
While wheat is relatively abundant, old crop supplies of higher quality wheat are tight worldwide. Quality premiums will not return to more normal ranges until the world is comfortable that 2011-12 quality results will be normal or better. However, demand must be present and willing to pay high premiums for protein and quality to support the current wide spreads between high- and mid-quality wheat.
Feed barley - The global barley trade remains unspectacular. Saudi Arabia still has demand outstanding for the 2010-11 marketing year. However, the price structure favours EU and Australian barley. The general tightness in the coarse grains supply-and-demand balance supports nearby barley prices. A strong euro is reducing EU competitiveness.
Pasted from
<http://www.cwb.ca/dom/db/contracts/pool_return/pro.nsf/WebPRPub/2010_20110324.html?OpenDocument&CropYr=2010-11>
Prairie Producers Looking at Spring Delays: Forecaster …
It will be at least May, and possibly even later, before producers are able to get into the fields across most of the Prairies this spring, according to a U.S. forecaster. Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc of Kansas City, said generally wet and cool conditions are expected over the next couple of week, meaning it will be April before any significant melting of snow even begins. As such, it will also be longer before farmland begins to dry out. “Of course as we melt the snow, we are going to create flooding, and that will keep producers out of the fields across a big portion of Manitoba and parts of eastern sections of Saskatchewan for an extended period of time," Lerner said.
Making matters worse, heavy snow was forecast for southern Alberta and western Saskatchewan yesterday, with southeastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba expected to get hit today. In Alberta, especially in the Edmonton and surrounding area, there is still a large amount of snow on the ground, Lerner noted. Meanwhile, weather models are also pointing to frequent precipitation during the spring melt, which would further delay field work.
Lerner said there may be a few areas within the Peace River region of northern Alberta and some areas around central and south western Saskatchewan where producers could begin work in mid April, but other than that, planting will come later than usual in most other regions, he said. Although a long way off, Lerner added that late planted fields this spring may be subject to earlier than normal frost in the autumn. “I am certainly not willing to project the fall weather pattern yet, but it appears that La Nina may dissipate allowing cooler temperatures to enter into the atmosphere," he said. “If the cold air does get into the atmosphere, the chances of an earlier than normal frost at harvest time will also increase."
Source : DePutter Publishing Ltd. 3/22/2011
Pasted from <http://www.syngentafarm.ca/Alerts/AlertDetail.aspx?AlertTypeId=5&alertId=142599>
Canada, Korea near deal on beef: report …
With a World Trade Organization ruling pending, Canada and South Korea may have an agreement in place by next month at the latest to reopen Korean ports to Canadian beef, Korean news agency Yonhap reports. Citing a "government source" who didn't want to be named, the news agency said Monday that Seoul and Ottawa have been in talks on the matter since October and have "almost ironed out outstanding differences in key issues." "If there are no unexpected developments, a formal agreement that would permit Canadian beef to reach local markets could be settled by April at the latest," Yonhap said, citing the government source. South Korea's ban on Canadian beef dates back to the discovery of Canada's first domestic case of BSE in 2003 and is the subject of a complaint Canada filed with the WTO in 2009. The WTO composed a formal dispute settlement panel in November 2009 to hear the case. Ottawa noted at the time that it normally takes up to nine months from the establishment of a panel for its final report to be released to WTO members. But according to the WTO, the panel's chairman informed the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in June last year that it "would not be possible for the panel to complete its work within six months from the date of the panel's composition."
The WTO said its panel expects it will be in a position to issue its final report to the parties "most likely by April 2011." The delay, the WTO said, was "due to the request by one party for a preliminary ruling and the fact that expert consultation procedures are involved."
Mar 23, 2011 Pasted from <http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000405607>
Railways fume over coming rule changes …
Canada's largest railways say they are disappointed in Ottawa's conclusion that further legislation may be needed to improve the quality of service they provide their customers, arguing it runs the risk of stifling innovation in the rail sector.
The federal government announced Friday it would be implementing the final recommendations of the Rail Freight Service Review, which was launched in 2008 to address systemic concerns about poor service from customers of Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
Throughout the review, numerous service deficiencies were identified at both railways. For example, one of the consulting papers found that two-thirds of shippers surveyed said they had suffered significant financial losses as a result of poor rail service, sometimes costing them millions of dollars.
Despite both CN and CP implementing numerous solutions on their own since the review was launched, the panel concluded additional measures were needed. "Although the railways have taken steps to address service issues, problems still remain," the panel said in its final report, which was made public Friday.
Among the measures the federal government has agreed to implement is the appointment of a facilitator to work with the railways and their stakeholders to develop within six months a better balanced, and low-cost dispute resolution mechanism, and to establish a framework for additional public reporting from both railways relating to the service they provide. These metrics should include publishing how many cars were ordered by shippers sector-wide, how many were actually delivered, as well as other measures, such as dwell times in railyards and ports, in order to develop a public record against which shippers can compare their own service metrics, the report says.
The federal government also said it would table a bill to give shippers the right to a standardized service agreement, allowing for a dispute mechanism and possible remedies for failure of service
Bob Ballantyne, Coalition of Rail Shippers chairman, said the measures should provide a better balance in the negotiations between shippers and the railways, which he said is currently weighted in the favour of the latter. "The panel really listened to what the shipper group was saying, and clearly the government did as well," he said.
The Freight Service Review panel had recommended in an interim report last October that Ottawa let the railways address the service deficiencies themselves, but also draft some legislation that would force them to fix the problems if a review in 2013 found that they were still falling short.
But the final report outlines the specific commercial measures it wants the railways to implement. It recommends as well that a review of the new measures be conducted in 2015 in conjunction with a five-year review of other amendments made to the transportation act.
The panel did not, however, rule out the possibility of further legislation being needed if any of the commercial measures it recommended were not implemented, and that irked the railways.
Claude Mongeau, CN chief executive, said he was concerned by Ottawa was "drifting backward toward more regulation instead of encouraging the current momentum for positive change."
He said he was also concerned the review focused too much on the railways, ignored improvements that had been made and did not sufficiently explore the impact other stakeholders in the supply chain had on service problems. "CN is pleased that the government on its part recognizes the positive momentum in the railway industry, is anchoring its preference on commercial solutions and is focusing on the end-to-end supply chain. This is the only way in our view to achieve lasting service improvements," he said. "We are, however, disappointed that the government considers legislation may still be needed." His concerns were echoed by Fred Green, CP chief executive: "While the report suggests negotiated commercial principles are preferred, I am concerned about the application of some of the recommendations involving regulation," Mr. Green said.
Scott Deveau, Financial Post · Mar. 21, 2011
Pasted from <http://www.financialpost.com/Railways+fume+over+coming+rule+changes/4475291/story.html>
America’s Most Valuable People …
By Ms. Nora Faris, a ninth-grade student and FFA member from Concordia, MO. Ms. Faris’s essay was named the winner in this year’s National Ag Day Written Essay Contest.
Their faces peer out at me from the glossy cover of a magazine, the bold headline touting them as “America’s Most Valuable People”. Among their ranks are political pundits, ingenious inventors, humble humanitarians, and a host of other charismatic characters. Their varied accomplishments reflect a time-tested tradition of hard work and good ol’ American ingenuity, but their lofty title as our country’s “most valuable” citizens makes me wonder. Would Americans perish from “technological withdrawal” if Steve Jobs discontinued the iPad? No. Would a national crisis ensue if Lady GaGa retired from performing? I don’t think so. If Mark Zuckerberg terminated Facebook, would the world as we know it cease to exist? I think not.
Then it occurs to me: America’s “Most Valuable People” aren’t found on magazine covers. Rather, they are found in farm fields, feed stores, and livestock barns. They are American farmers, a group whose labors, although largely unrecognized, are vital to the lives of all U.S. citizens – or at least the ones that eat.
In this modern age of supermarkets and 24-hour fast food restaurants, it has become increasingly hard for the American public to fathom where their food comes from. Long gone are the days when a chicken dinner meant selecting a bird from the henhouse. Today’s consumer, faced with an endless array of choices, selects their poultry with little knowledge of its origin, unaware of the work that went into producing and dispatching the bird. They fail to realize the vital connection between farm and food, between production and consumption. Little do they realize that without our nation’s strong agricultural infrastructure of farmers, their grocery store shelves would be bare.
As America’s population continues to grow, a farmer’s job is to keep up with the escalating demand for food. They will have to play multiple roles in their quest to provide nutritious, affordable products for more than 300 million Americans. Farmers will become inventors, developing devices that will improve crop yields and abolish dated farming practices. They will become delegates for agriculture, lobbying for the advancement of farming in their legislatures. Most importantly, farmers will become naturalists, determining the best solutions for responsible soil, water, and resource management.
Although it’s unlikely that a soybean farmer from Kansas will ever steal Kim Kardashian’s VIP publicity, their true importance to their fellow citizens cannot be denied. American farmers’ dedication to maintaining an unrivaled level of food security makes them our nation’s “Most Valuable People”, even if they drive a Case instead of a Cadillac.
Pasted from http://www.dailylivestockreport.com/documents/dlr%203-25-2011.pdf
Exchange Prices ~ Closing prices – Friday, March 25, 2011, (compared to the previous week)
Joke for the week:
A young man who left his home in Texas at an early age, finally purchased his own ranch in Oklahoma. He invited his father out for a visit, and took him on a tour of the property.
Driving along in the son's pickup truck, a jack rabbit hopped onto the road in front of them. The son stopped the truck to let the rabbit pass, and the father queried, "What in tarnation is that!?"
The son incredulously replied, "That's a jackrabbit, Dad, what did you think it was?" The father shrugged and said, "We grow 'em a lot bigger'n back home in Texas."
So they went on and a little farther on they came to a few buffalo roaming the range. The son stopped the truck and the father again said in a puzzled tone "What are those?"
The son hesitantly said, "Those are buffalo, Dad. You gotta be kiddin me. You really don't recognize them?" The father replied, "Well, I guess they're kinda familiar - it's just that we grow 'em so much bigger back in Texas."
The son, a bit disgruntled, drove on in silence. At length they approached a low part in the road with marshy wetlands on either side. A large snapping turtle lumbered onto the road. The father peered intently at the creature and said "Now what on earth is that thing!?"
Without missing a beat, the son replied, "wood tick"...
Story/Lesson for the week: The Woodsman and the Leprechaun 715.4 Long ago, a woodsman saved the life of a leprechaun and was given one wish. The woodsman thought for a long time and finally wished that each of his three daughters find a good husband.
But the leprechaun was full of games. "How am I to know what's good in your mind? I'll give them husbands, but you can name only one quality and it's got to be the same for all. What'll you have? I can make them clever, strong, beautiful, rich – you name it."
The woodsman said, "Then give me men of good character."
The leprechaun wasn't done playing. "And how am I to know what good character is?"
"Do you have children?" asked the woodsman.
"I do," said the leprechaun.
"And do you love them?"
"More than life itself."
"Then give my girls the kind of men you want for your children."
"Ah," the leprechaun said, "then you shall have honorable men with kind and loving hearts. And I'll throw in a strong conscience too."
The woodsman was a shrewd man and a good father. He knew the well-being and happiness of his children depends on the quality of their relationships. The quality of their relationships depends on the quality of the people they are with.
But what if the woodsman was asked what one quality he wants in his own daughters? As a wise father he would again ask for good character. Whether it's in one’s spouse or oneself, cleverness, good looks, and money are nice, but in the end the most essential quality of a good life is good character.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Wisdom for the week:
“Average people look for ways of getting away with it; successful people look for ways of getting on with it.” —Jim Rohn
