Canada – Peering into the New Year

Will they go up? Will they go down? What about feed, corn, soybean meal, will it be up, down or sideways? And who would have ever thought not long ago that we would have to pay attention to such things as the price of crude oil per barrel, as it bears on ethanol and ultimately corn and DDGS. Also in Canada because of our closer economic relationship to the US, exchange rate is another very important dynamic in driving overall margins. So we all spend a great deal of time looking at all these factors and speculating to their directions and effects to the industry’s wellbeing going forward. This commentary and I expect all future Genesus Market Commentaries will continue to primarily do that. However as we begin a New Year and peer into the future, which we can’t see (which is probably a good thing) and perhaps reflect on the past year I will suggest we consider that we do it in the following context.

I have the great pleasure in my job to meet many CEOs & Presidents of multi-million dollar operations at their kitchen tables in their homes because for the bulk of my clientele of that’s what doubles as their “head office“. With these opportunities you get great insight into their families and their values and beliefs. Recently I was struck with one particular call where there was a beautiful picture of a rural farmstead from the past with the following inscription. “Write your troubles in the sand; carve your blessings in stone“. Probably an excellent filter as we look both forward and back at the turning of the year and one I expect a great many pig producers already use. That’s why they’re so resilient!

Wishing you & yours the most Happy & Prosperous New Year

If we take a look at the OMAFRA Weekly Hog Market Facts compiled by John Bancroft, Market Strategies Program Lead, Stratford OMAFRA [email protected] see some further improvement of estimated margin after feeder pig and feed for the last five weeks from –($6.30) to $10.38