Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Corn: What now?

Now that the corn price has gone over $5 what does everyone think it will do now?

 

It would be nice to see it continue to go up. Any thoughts of another recession bring the price back down.

 

 

Michael

Views: 149

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by OntAG Admin on September 18, 2010 at 5:48am
Permalink Reply by Joann on September 28, 2010 at 8:24am
By all accounts, the financial situation to the south of us appear to have the hallmarks of another recession as you suggest Michael. As our federal minister of finance, Mr. Flaherty has announced the recession of 08 ended, I can well imagine the looming American financial difficulties will inspire new verbiage for the approaching recession..... but the price of commodities???

There has been some interesting discussions concerning the price of commodities... and as we all know... the price in Chicago does not always translate in the same way to the farmer.

The UN Special Rapporteur on food, Mr. Olivier De Schutter, released a report recently called the Food Commodities Speculation and Food Price Crises.

Mr. De Schutter writes: '[Beginning in ]2001, food commodities derivatives markets, and commodities indexes began to see an influx of non-traditional investors,; De Schutter writes. 'The reason for this was because other markets dried up one by one: the dotcoms vanished at the end of 2001, the stock market soon after, and the US housing market in August 2007. As each bubble burst, these large institutional investors moved into other markets, each traditionally considered more stable than the last. Strong similarities can be seen between the price behaviour of food commodities and other refuge values, such as gold.'

Further stating: 'A significant contributory cause of the price spike [has been] speculation by institutional investors who did not have any expertise or interest in agricultural commodities, and who invested in commodities index funds or in order to hedge speculative bets.'
http://www.stwr.org/food-security-agriculture/food-commodities-spec...

Problem identified.

Now for the reactions: Engage the public

"An ActionAid report released last week revealed that hunger could be costing poor nations $450bn a year – more than 10 times the amount needed to halve hunger by 2015 and meet Millennium Development Goal One." http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/24/food-crisis-un-em...

Solution: take Sovereignty away from individual nations for the ultimate solution of global food regulation.

Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, called for "bolstered global governance system for world food security". He said, “We have to build a more coherent and effective system of governance for world food security; we have to correct the policies and international trade system that have resulted in more hunger and poverty." when responding to the 2008 food crisis (which many blamed on bio-fuels at the time)


Will the higher prices translate into more money for the farmers? I doubt it. There appears to be a movement afoot to control agricultural commodity prices under the guise of "food security" with enhanced trade.

If anything, food commodity prices will be globally harmonized... which will not bode well for Ontario farmers.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Canada Backs AI Tools for Smarter Vineyards

The Government of Canada is investing in advanced agricultural technology to help grape growers improve crop management and disease detection. Funding will support the development of innovative machine learning and computer vision tools that provide real-time crop insights, helping farmers increase productivity, improve crop health, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the grape and wine industry.

Canada Pens Potash Deal with Bangladesh

Canada has announced a new government-to-government agreement with Bangladesh for the supply of Canadian potash. The deal is expected to support food security, strengthen trade relations, create opportunities for Canadian workers, and ensure a reliable fertilizer supply for agricultural production.

Still Slow Going for Saskatchewan Harvest

The Saskatchewan harvest continued to make relatively modest progress this past week and remains well behind normal. Thursday’s provincial crop report showed the overall harvest at just 27% complete as of Monday, up 9 percentage points from a week earlier. That is well behind 41% last year, and the five- and 10-year averages of 58% and 50%. Most of the progress came earlier in the week before widespread heavy rainfall brought fieldwork to a halt across much of the province. Some of the largest totals included 138 mm in the rural municipality of Longlaketon, 132 mm in Eyebrow, 127 mm in Sarnia and 121 mm in McKillop. Fields are now saturated in many areas, leaving producers waiting for warmer, drier weather before combines can return. Cropland topsoil moisture increased sharply, with 33% rated surplus and 58% adequate. Another 7% is rated short and 2% very short. Excess moisture and high winds were the main sources of crop damage during the week, the report said, with isolated

ICE Close: Sharp Crude Rally Supports

Canola futures closed moderately higher Thursday, supported by strength across the broader oilseed complex and a sharp rally in crude oil. Chicago soybean futures posted solid gains ahead of Friday’s USDA WASDE report, providing spillover support to canola, while surging energy markets added another bullish influence for vegetable oils and biofuel feedstocks. Brent crude jumped more than 6% to over US$107/barrel and U.S. crude climbed above US$102 as escalating Middle East tensions heightened concerns about global energy supplies. A slightly weaker Canadian dollar also helped underpin canola by making Canadian supplies more competitive for foreign buyers. Today’s Saskatchewan crop report pegged the overall harvest in that province at 27% complete as of Monday, up just 9 points from a week earlier and well behind last year and the average pace as wet conditions continue to hold farmers back. The canola harvest was estimated at 9% complete. Additional precipitation and periods

Alberta harvest reaches 10 per cent complete

According to Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s latest crop report, 10 per cent of major crops have been harvested, as of September 1, 2026. That’s up six percentage points from the previous week, although harvest remains behind the five-year average of 23 per cent and the 10-year average of 17 per cent. Harvest progress varies across the province. The South Region reported 27 per cent of major crops harvested, while Central Alberta sits at nearly 12 per cent. Harvest is just getting underway in many northern areas, with completion ranging from one to three per cent across the Northeast, Northwest, and Peace regions. Dry peas continue to be the furthest along, with just over half of the provincial crop harvested. Barley harvest has reached 20 per cent complete, while six per cent of spring wheat acres have been combined. The latest report also shows soil moisture conditions remain well above historical averages across Alberta. Provincial surface soil moisture is rated 56 per cen

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service