The Rural Voice, 1999-11, Page 34News
Humour enlightens
philosophy speaker
else, you need a positive attitude,
humourist Eleanor Wood told the
Grey County Federation of
Agriculture annual meeting in
Durham, October 15.
"Life is 10 per cent what happens
to me and 90 per cent how I react to
it." said Wood, a farmer and former
teacher from Wentworth County.
Farmers have to work with their
spouse and their family and the
people you work with need
appreciation. she said. "Marriages are
made in heaven but the details are
worked out here on earth."
Wood expressed concern for the
issue of too much water taking in the
Grey -Bruce area, noting humans
cannot survive without water. "We
have to take care of the
environment," Wood said. "If you
want your children to have a future
they have to have a healthy
environment."0
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30 THE RURAL VOICE
Grain Markets
Corn stalks up,
soybean stocks down
By Dave Gordon
By the time this article is read,
harvest in Western and Eastern
Ontario will be pretty much
complete. The same will be true in
the U.S. Central Ontario may be the
only area that will harvest through
November.
Since my last writing, the USDA
issued a stock report that increased
corn stocks by 400 million bushels in
Iowa, a result of either under-
estimating Iowa's 1998 corn crops or
a severe underestimation of corn
usage. Soybean stocks on the other
hand were lower than expected
indicating good usage. Along with
these stock reports, the USDA
updated production figures by leaving
corn yields unchanged but by
dropping soybean yields by almost
one bushel.
CORN:
Harvest in the U.S. should be 80 to
85 per cent complete by the end of
October and yields are better than
were expected back in August. The
U.S. farmer is using the LDP
program quite heavily. He is able to
take his deficiency payment and then
sell the corn now or forward contract
it if he has storage. Either way, little
corn is in the nine-month loan at this
point and will get sold with any gain
in prices.
In Ontario, yields are suffering
south of the 401 highway along Lake
Erie, however, the rest of the
province is enjoying terrific yields.
Although prices are rather low, basis
levels are very strong, a result of light
producer selling. In fact, basis levels
are good enough to allow truck corn
from Michigan into Ontario even
though rail corn is being shipped into
the U.S. through Buffalo. It's not
normal to see corn being imported at
harvest time although it has happened
in the past, but this year rail
equipment is not available in
Michigan that could move corn to the
eastern seaboard. As a result, storage
is getting full in Michigan and the
Ontario market is strong enough to
attract significant tonnage.
I do not think the Ontario crop will
be close to last year's production but
we will produce almost enough to
meet domestic needs. Depending on
how much corn is shipped to the
Maritimes and into the export market,
Ontario will import corn from
Michigan throughout the winter to
meet users consistent requirements.
SOYBEAN:
The USDA reduced both soybean
stocks and production in the last
month but there is some concern that
production may be increased in the
next reports. The past reports did help
to keep soybean futures close to $5
but hedge pressure and spec selling
have combined to drop prices
recently. Soybean harvest will be all
but complete by the end of October
and the focus will switch to planting
progress and weather in South
America.
In Ontario, harvest is pretty much
complete in western Ontario but
central and eastern Ontario still have
a long way to go. Yields in the main
five southwest counties are
disappointing but are excellent in the
rest of the province.
Basis levels in Ontario have been
very strong throughout harvest along
with top premiums for certain white
hilum varieties with fairly light
producer selling. Basis will likely
stay fairly strong until producer
selling picks up. Right now the bids
provide very good carry into the
winter months.
FEEDGRAIN:
Nothing has really changed in the
feed grain market. Western wheat and
barley are still priced too high to
replace corn although, some wheat
and feed screenings are being
included in certain rations. Ontario
barley is trading in the $90 area or