Ontario Ag Minister Tours Drought Fields

Jul 24, 2012

NFU Pressures Ontario Government to Provide Relief

After lobbying pressures by the National Farmers Union (NFU) for the Ontario government to provide disaster relief for farmers, Ontario agriculture minister Ted McMeekin went out into the field of Niagara based Vuckovic Farms to see first-hand the impact that drought has had on farmer’s crops. Since April, Ontario has only had 40 to 60 percent of normal rainfall putting stress on crops which could severely impact yields. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs predict that 10 to 20 percent of the provinces corn crops are already unsalvageable.

“Our members across much of the province are facing a severe shortage of pasture and forages to feed livestock for the rest of the summer and to store for winter feed,” Ontario NFU co-ordinator Ann Slater said in a statement.

It’s going to take a lot more than a walk in the field to convince Ontario farmers that the province has their back. It will be interesting to see if the government will step in to provide additional relief above basic crop insurance that farmers already have.

Video: Is China Buying US Soybeans + USDA Nov 14th Crop Report could be “Game Changing”

After a week of a U.S./China trade truce, markets/trade is skeptical that we have not seen a signed agreement nor heard much from China or seen any details. There are rumors that China is buying soybean futures & not the physical. Trust in Trump?
12 MMT of U.S. soybean purchases by China by year-end is better than 0 but we all need to give it more time and give it a chance to unfold. China did lower the tariffs on Ag and is buying U.S. wheat and sorghum.
U.S. supreme court could rule against Trumps tariffs, but the Trump administration does have a plan B.
U.S. government shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.
But despite a U.S. government shutdown we will be getting a USDA November crop report next Friday and it could be “game changing.” If the USDA provides a bullish surprise with lower U.S. corn and soybean yields and ending stocks that are lower than expected both corn and soybean futures will break out above their ceilings at $4.35/bu and $11.35/bu respectively.
The funds continued their selling in live and feeder cattle futures on continued fears that the Trump administration want to lower U.S. beef prices. The fundamentals have not changed, only market psychology has.
Stocks markets continue to worry about a weak U.S. job market, but you can blame ChatGPT for that. In the future, we will have a more efficient, productive and growing economy with a higher unemployment rate until we have more skilled AI workers.
After 34 new record highs in the S & P 500 and 124 new records in the NASDAQ in 2025 we are back to a correction and investor profit taking as AI valuations may have gotten too stretched near-term ahead of NVDA’s 3rd quarter earnings announcement on Nov. 19th. But this is not an AI bubble.
75% of Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk!
It has rained in South America in the last 7 days, but both the American and European models agree that Central Brazil remains dry in the next 14-days!

Minister Ritz Reminds Canadians to Celebrate Food Day Canada

Ontario Goat Producers Voted No!