Weather can have a key role on the markets, as a result, it's important to watch how the weather is impacting some of our key competitors like the US.

 

Drew Lerner, an Agrimeteorologist with World Weather Inc. who is well-respected for agricultural forecasts, says parts of the US will be dealing with surplus moisture, which will put them late going into the fields. He adds the same problem with excess snow depths and increased runoff across the Canadian prairies is also affecting the Dakotas and Minnesota, and the US Midwest, the heart of the cornbelt, will also have some wet biases for a while, which could move prices up. As for wheat, Lerner says producers will also want to watch the dry areas in Texas.

 

India is also a key competitor for Canadian farmers, growing a number of the same crops we have here. Lerner says India has had some good weather which will have helped their production, adding the winter crops has done very well as they were planted on time and the moisture was there when they needed it, which could result in large numbers.

 

North Africa is a competitor for durum, and Lerner says the weather has also been favourable for most of that area, saying there's a small part of southwestern Morocco and northwester Algeria that has been drier than normal and could result in lower yields, but will likely be balance out by higher yields from Tunisia and northeastern Algeria, so they won't see much support on our prices here.

 

Lerner says for farmers here at home, we can expect a cool, wet spring, which will delay seeding operations, especially in the eastern side of the province.