New growth on a canola plant following a frost indicates the seedling has survived. (Canola Council of Canada photo)

Take time to judge frost damage on canola

Reading Time: 2 minutes After temperatures Thursday dropped as low as -5 C in parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, growers who’ve already seeded may be wondering whether emerging canola plants have survived. It’s best not to write off those seedlings right away, according to the Canola Council of Canada in a Canola Watch newsletter on Friday. It can take […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canada’s canola stocks drop beneath ‘low’ line

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Canola supplies in commercial hands in Western Canada dropped below one million tonnes during the week ended Sunday, hitting only 854,600 tonnes, according to the latest Canadian Grain Commission report. Visible canola stocks are typically considered low whenever they move below one million tonnes. Current supplies on hand are the smallest since […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

EU to propose 10-year licence renewal for glyphosate

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission will propose extending by 10 years its approval for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. A transatlantic row over possible risks to human health has prompted investigations by congressional committees in the U.S., and in Europe has forced a delay to […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Weather to spark ‘tug-of-war’ in canola

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola traders are keenly watching Prairie weather, with variability expected to keep the market choppy in the near term, one analyst says. “There’s a little tug-of-war, back and forth; traders watch as every cloud goes across the Prairies,” said Keith Ferley, commodity futures advisor at RBC Dominion Securities in […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Visible Canadian canola stocks tighten

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– Canola supplies in commercial hands in Western Canada are tightening, with the latest Canadian Grain Commission weekly report showing only 1.05 million tonnes in the pipeline as of Sunday. Visible canola stocks are typically considered low whenever they move below one million tonnes. The current supplies on hand are the smallest since […] Read more

General Mills is offering free flower seed to conservation-minded farmers who are interested in promoting habitat for predators and pollinators such as the native leafcutter bee.

Give your insect friends a home

Leaving some non-crop areas with a diverse range of perennial vegetation can save you money on insecticide

Reading Time: 4 minutes What do shelterbelts, pivot corners and field margins have in common? No, they’re not unprofitable or “wasted” areas. As natural habitats for beneficial insects, including pollinators and predators of crop pests, those non-cropped areas may be worth their square footage in gold. Alejandro Costamagna, an assistant professor in the University of Manitoba’s department of entomology, […] Read more


Canola chart turns neutral to bearish

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– The ICE Futures Canada July canola contract has run into resistance from a chart standpoint and nearby technical signals look neutral to bearish. The contract fell from two-month highs the past two sessions, settling right at the 20-day moving average Thursday around $518 per tonne. Prior to Wednesday’s selloff the contract was […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Tight supplies keep canola supported

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were up and down during the week ended Wednesday, although the nearby bias could still be pointed higher, according to a market analyst. Statistics Canada is forecasting record canola seedings in 2017 of 22.4 million acres, but Wayne Palmer of Agri-Trend Marketing in Winnipeg said actual seeded […] Read more


This satellite-gathered image shows the raw Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for Western Canada on July 25, 2016.

How’s the crop?

That’s the question that StatsCanada asks 10,000 farmers, but increasingly, the grain trade doesn’t believe the answers

Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s become a predictable pattern. Statistics Canada releases a crop estimate. Reporters call traders and analysts for reaction, who inevitably say it’s either too high or too low. That reflects a general dissatisfaction with StatsCan’s time-consuming system of contacting 10,000 farmers to ask how their crop is doing. Replacing a survey-based crop report with technology-sourced […] Read more

A canola field in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 5, 2016 after the area was blanketed by wet snow.  (Lisa Guenther photo)

StatsCan data confirm tight canola supplies

Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada — Grain and oilseed stocks data released Friday from Statistics Canada were bullish for canola and wheat — though analysts suggest the effects of the report on the market may be short-lived. Figures for barley, lentils and peas were above year-ago levels, but movements in those markets are more likely be driven by […] Read more