Stats Canada released its initial planting estimates for Canada this morning, which included several significant surprises such as the following:
Canola acreage is forecast to drop 7 percent from 2017, well below the trade’s pre-report guesses. This is likely the result of last year’s struggles with very dry conditions across the southern Canadian prairies. Canola is an expensive crop to plant, and Saskatchewan farmers say they will cut that acreage 10 percent from last year’s record. Soybean acreage is also expected to drop 11 percent. Spring wheat acreage is projected to increase a whopping 15.4 percent from last year. The surprise isn’t that this acreage will be higher, it’s the magnitude of the increase...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
