(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola backs away from lofty heights

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — It was a busy week for canola contracts on ICE Futures Canada as the most-active July contract rocked and rolled between $530 and $540 per tonne before settling Wednesday at the $528 mark. The last time the dominant canola contract was above the $535 mark was in November last year. Commercial interest, […] Read more

Canola chart points to bearish reversal

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — After hitting a contract high Monday, the ICE Futures Canada July canola contract subsequently turned decidedly lower to form a key reversal pattern from a chart perspective. July canola hit a high of $539.50 per tonne Monday, but settled right around where it started, near the lows of the day, at $536.70. […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Canada trade deficit jumps as rail problems cut grain exports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s trade deficit in February jumped to $2.69 billion from $1.94 billion in January as rail transport problems slashed exports of wheat and canola, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. The deficit was larger than the $2 billion shortfall predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll. Canada has only recorded two monthly […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola watching U.S./China spat

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts moved steadily higher over the past week as grain markets reacted to a mounting trade dispute between China and the U.S. While no sanctions are yet in place, the back-and-forth sabre-rattling between the two countries now includes proposed Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybeans, which weighed heavily on […] Read more


Artist’s rendition of the planned Richardson Innovation Centre in Winnipeg. (Graphic courtesy Richardson International)

Richardson to take food innovation downtown

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian grain and agrifood firm Richardson International plans to marshal its food research and product development crews in a new downtown Winnipeg space. The privately-held, Winnipeg-based company announced Wednesday it will put up over $30 million to build what it calls the Richardson Innovation Centre, a four-story, 62,000-square foot facility to go up a block […] Read more



Mark Belmonte, researcher and associate professor at the University of Manitoba, uses big data and next-generation genetic sequencing to develop crop protection products. One new result is an RNA interference molecule that can stop sclerotinia stem rot.

Species-specific crop protection

RNA interference provides a new method of pest control, using tools so precise they hit only the target insect or disease

Reading Time: 4 minutes “We like to call sclerotinia the bully,” says Mark Belmonte. And stopping a bully is not easy. The pathogen attacks fast, it moves quickly through the plant and it can do heavy yield damage right away. “Because it acts with brute force and involves multiple genes, sclerotinia is difficult to study and get a good […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola futures linked to NAFTA

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts zigged and zagged around the $520 per tonne mark during the week ended Wednesday — but one analyst says the market could really take a turn if and when the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement is clarified. “The Canadian dollar is already moving to […] Read more


The new self-marketing portal is better suited to smaller volume, niche crops, including barley, fababeans or peas.

The FarmLead revolution

The grain marketing portal eases the task of buying and selling grains and oilseeds by expanding your network

Reading Time: 6 minutes “In an ideal world…” We’ve all heard it, and probably said it too. “In an ideal world, corn prices would be $5 a bushel or better,” or “In an ideal world, a one-pass glyphosate application would be all that’s needed.” Obviously, this isn’t an ideal world, particularly in agriculture, where market realities challenge farmers on […] Read more

Most of the varieties covered by PBR are from the public sector, and most are cereal varieties.

Plant Breeders Rights not so simple

New regulations give PBR regs more teeth, but breeders still want you to follow the law out of self-interest, not fear

Reading Time: 6 minutes When Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) got a major facelift two years ago, the seed trade in Canada responded with information campaigns saying that all was for the best. Upgrades in intellectual property protection weren’t a cash grab, farmers were told. Instead, they showed the international community that Canada takes property protection very seriously. That recognition, […] Read more