"I see no downside to storage… it can really pay for itself in years when for farmers it’s in their best interest to ride out a dip in the market, or ride out periods when basis levels are weak, or movement is challenging. And you need a certain amount of storage to do that.” – Jonathon Driedger, FarmLink

It’s been a good few years in the bin business

Crops have been getting larger, but the elevator system has gone in the other direction, forcing farmers to add more of their own storage

Reading Time: 5 minutes Prairie farmers can’t seem to get enough on-farm storage, and the trend is likely to continue but with ever-growing bin sizes. As farms grow, so too do their storage needs, says Lyle Muyres, vice-president, marketing for CORR Grain Systems Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census of Agriculture confirms operations are getting larger, with producers increasing their farm […] Read more



U.S. President Donald Trump (r) and Vice-President Mike Pence meet with Congressional leadership Dec. 7 in Washington. (Video screengrab from WhiteHouse.gov)

Trump open to biofuel policy reform, senators say

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump is open to reforming the country’s biofuels policy if it can be done in a way that protects jobs in both the refining and agriculture industries, senators said on Thursday after a meeting with Trump on the issue. Nine lawmakers had requested the meeting to argue that […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola holds rangebound with bearish StatsCan data

Reading Time: 1 minute CNS Canada — Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada complex stayed mostly rangebound during the week ended Wednesday, even as sharp fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and a bearish Statistics Canada report impacted the market. StatsCan on Wednesday released its final production estimates of the year, projecting canola production in 2017-18 at 21.3 million […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. grains: Wheat, soy slump on technicals, commodities selloff

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soy prices fell on Wednesday, pressured by technical selling amid a broad downturn across many commodities as the dollar climbed. Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures eased from an earlier roughly four-month high while wheat futures declined for the third straight session, nearing their contract lows set in […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola stocks look less tight in StatsCan report

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian farmers grew a record amount of canola in 2017, despite weather concerns, according to updated production estimates on Wednesday from Statistics Canada. The agency pegged production in 2017-18 at 21.3 million tonnes, up from the September estimate of 19.7 million and last year’s total of 19.6 million. The rise in production […] Read more


Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Larger crops expected in StatsCan report

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canada’s canola and wheat production likely ended up larger than earlier expectations, but just how much more remains to be seen, as industry participants await the Statistics Canada production report due out Wednesday. “The finish seemed to be better than what the weather looked like earlier in the year,” said Neil Townsend […] Read more

The consistently highest yields were on narrower row spacing, combined with high rates of side-banded N, but all row spacing — even 24 inches — produced viable yields as long as environmental conditions were conducive and weeds effectively controlled.

The best crop row spacing is…

A multi-year study suggests there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question

Reading Time: 6 minutes The question of the best row spacing has been asked even more often in recent years, and it turns out that the answer is the same as for many other questions in farming — “It depends.” But on what? A multi-year study by researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Indian Head Agricultural Research […] Read more


The Big River Resources ethanol plant at West Burlington, Iowa, about 120 km southwest of Davenport. (Steven Vaughn photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. EPA ups biofuel targets slightly

Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it will require fuel companies to blend slightly more biofuels into the nation’s gasoline and diesel next year, angering oil refiners who view them as a competitive threat. The announcement follows weeks of lobbying by Midwestern lawmakers and representatives of the corn industry who wanted […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Trade expecting bigger canola, wheat numbers from StatsCan

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian farmers harvested the biggest canola crop on record, slightly larger than was expected in September, a Reuters survey of 15 traders and analysts showed ahead of a key government report. Wheat production is also seen higher than earlier expectations, as favourable weather produced big yields. Statistics Canada will release its final crop […] Read more