"The objective of this project is to develop a Western Canadian
corn market model to be included in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Food and Agriculture Regional Model (FARM). Corn has gained importance recently in the feed grain market in Western Canada. The substantial increase in livestock production, rise in malting barley exports, increased incidence of fusarium in Manitoba and the recent drought conditions have significantly contributed to the rapid reduction of the feed grain surplus in this region of Canada. As a result, corn imports from the United States have become the safety valve of this market in Western Canada. For these reasons, a detailed analysis of the Western Canadian feed grain and livestock markets cannot be undertaken without incorporating a corn component."

"The main cause looks to be too much money. Governments have effectively printed the stuff to help their economies recover. This has created two side effects. First, investors have bought exposure to commodities as an economic hedge. Second, the price of foodstuffs has been bid up as low interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of hoarding them — especially in China, where money supply grew by almost 20 percent in 2010." ///// "The United States, which supplies two-thirds of the world’s corn exports, diverted huge amounts into biofuel in the run-up to 2008’s crisis, causing 70 percent of the rise in corn prices, according to the IMF."