Mustard Prices Expected Firm

Dec 11, 2019

Confirmation of this year’s smaller Canadian crop should help keep Prairie mustard prices firm going forward, according to an industry official.

Statistics Canada’s final crop production report for the 2019 growing season last week pegged the 2019 national mustard crop at 134,600 tonnes, down slightly from the agency’s September estimate and more than 22% below the previous year.

Walter Dyck of Olds Products said there was “wild variation in yield,” across the Prairies, due to the overly dry start to the growing season.

In turn, spot prices for Yellow and Brown mustard have moved higher. Yellow mustard, which was around 35 to 37 cents/lb a few months ago, is currently around 40 cents.

“That’s quite significant for the market to turn that corner, from the 30s into the 40s,” Dyck said.

Brown mustard spot bids have increased only slightly, rising to 31 cents after being around 30 cents for most of the summer. Oriental mustard is currently priced around 25 cents/lb.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.