U.S. corn and soybean condition ratings fell in the latest week, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday, the first decline for both crops in five weeks. USDA said that soybeans were rated 71 percent good to excellent as of July 27, a 2 percentage point decline from a week earlier. Good-to-excellent ratings for corn […]
Category Archives Crops
Brazil farmers say GMO corn no longer resistant to pest — July 28, 2014
Genetically modified corn seeds are no longer protecting Brazilian farmers from voracious tropical bugs, increasing costs as producers turn to pesticides, a farm group said on Monday. Producers want four major manufacturers of so-called BT corn seeds to reimburse them for the cost of spraying up to three coats of pesticides this year, said Ricardo […]
Southern Manitoba canola growth more varied than usual -scouts — July 28, 2014
Canola crops in southern Manitoba are growing at a wider range of stages than usual, with many behind their normal development stage, scouts touring the fertile western Prairies found on Monday. Some canola was just beginning to flower, while other crops were in full bloom, canola’s critical development period. Other fields of canola in south-central […]
Grain drain — are carryover projections off the mark? — July 28, 2014
Canada will carryover more grain than usual when the crop year ends July 31, but analysts say it may be less than some people think. That mountain of Western grain created from a record harvest last fall, combined with poor rail service until spring, is being whittled away. In its July Outlook for Principle Crops […]
The evolution of vertical tillage
It’s how you use your deep tiller that makes all the difference in crop performance
What’s vertical tillage? It seems like a simple three-word question, and you’d expect the answer to be just as straightforward. But no matter which farmer, equipment dealer or agronomist you ask, or how many times you ask them, you’re likely to get a different answer every time. In no small part that’s because the focus […]
Rain over much of the Prairies for the week of July 20-26 — July 27, 2014
It was a mixed week for rain across the Prairies for the week ending Saturday, July 26. Some areas received little rain but others received 20-plus mm, with heavy amounts reported in some parts of Alberta. To find current weather information from more than 1,000 stations in the WeatherFarm network, or to generate your own […]
GRAINS: Corn bounces but posts 5th weekly loss on supply pressure — July 25, 2014
Reuters — U.S. corn futures inched higher on bargain buying Friday but posted a fifth consecutive weekly loss as expectations of record yields in this autumn’s harvest continued to hang over the market, traders said. Wheat rose on short-covering buying as the market consolidated above contract lows set this week, while soybeans ended mixed. At […]
Neonic insecticides widespread in Iowa waters — July 25, 2014
Reuters — A class of insecticides popular with corn and soybean farmers in the U.S. Midwest but feared as a factor in the decline of U.S. honey bee colonies and other crop pollinators, has been found to be widespread through rivers and streams in Iowa, according to a government study released on Thursday. The study, […]
Producer cars still backed up in Western Canada — July 25, 2014
CNS — Canadian railway traffic has improved in recent months, but there is still a large backlog of producer car orders to move through. “The rail issues are behind the big guys; those who can move 100-car unit trains are getting them and moving the grain to the ports,” said analyst Wayne Palmer, of Agri-Trend […]
Do biotech traits still pay?
Input costs are up, soybean prices are down, but the biotech sector aims to convince growers that the economics of biotech are still in their favour
With lower commodity prices looming over the grain and oilseed sector, more farmers this winter are asking whether that expensive bag of seed is really the smartest buy. At the very least, they say, it’s time for a fresh look at trait economics. The companies that produce this seed charge top dollar for it, and […]
