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Saskatchewan to pare school tax mill rate for farmland

EPT mill rates to rise for residential, other properties

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s latest budget taps down the education property tax (EPT) mill rate it sets on farmland, while raising those mill rates on other property classes. The provincial government, in Tuesday’s budget, set the provincewide EPT mill rate on agricultural land for 2021 at 1.36, down slightly from the previous rate of 1.43. EPT mill rates […] Read more

A canola field near Pincher Creek, Alta. (Laughingmango/E+/Getty Images)

Japan increases demand for canola

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Japan has continued to generate an increased demand for canola, according to Daisuke Sasatani, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) attaché in Tokyo. Sasatani said approximately 98 per cent of Japan’s canola imports are from Canada, while Australia supplies the remainder. The attaché estimated Japan’s canola imports in 2020-21 are to rise by […] Read more


ICE May 2021 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger (20,2) bands, July 2021 canola (green line) and November 2021 canola (black line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: USDA reports could spur record canola acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — After May and July canola contracts took hefty hits over the past the week, they skyrocketed to close out the calendar month following a pair of reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The department on Wednesday issued its first survey-based prospective planting report for 2021, which called for increased acres for […] Read more

A mayfly on water. (SBTheGreenMan/iStock/Getty Images)

Health Canada steps back from bans on two neonics

New limits, some cancellations to be put in place

Reading Time: 5 minutes A federal proposal to protect aquatic insect habitat by cancelling all registered outdoor uses for two popular ag insecticides has been walked back in a major way. Health Canada on Wednesday announced its special review decisions on the risks to aquatic bug life from the use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam, both pesticides and seed treatments […] Read more


ICE May 2021 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola still finding support

U.S. acreage estimates could sway futures

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market saw some wide price swings over the week ended Wednesday, dropping by more than $50 per tonne off its contract highs in the nearby May contract before recovering to trade just a few dollars off of those levels once again. Tight canola supplies, strength in world vegetable oil […] Read more

Richardson International’s Yorkton, Sask. canola crush plant. (CNW Group/Richardson International)

Richardson to upsize Yorkton canola crush plant

Company to boost shipping and receiving, double processing capacity

Reading Time: 2 minutes Agrifood firm Richardson International’s major canola crush plant at Yorkton in eastern Saskatchewan is set to undergo another round of upgrades which are expected to double its processing capacity. The company on Monday announced it will start work immediately on “facility upgrades and improvements” that would allow it to process over 2.2 million tonnes of […] Read more


ICE May 2021 canola with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Is a bear market next for canola?

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | MarketsFarm — The canola market started to retreat this week as unpriced supplies still in the countryside approach non-existent, according to Wayne Palmer, analyst with Exceed Grain in Winnipeg. For the first half of the week of March 15, canola began to lose strength, particularly in old-crop months. That was highlighted at the […] Read more

ICE May 2021 canola (candlesticks) with 30-day moving average (green line) and CBOT May 2021 soyoil (yellow line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola’s correction likely short-lived given tight supplies

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market ran into a profit-taking correction on Wednesday, backing away from recently-hit contract highs. While a further correction is possible, the underlying fundamentals remain supportive and canola is expected to retain its relative strength to other oilseeds. “The market needs bullish fuel, but it’s just not getting any,” said […] Read more


WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says

Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more

The High Level Bridge in Lethbridge, Alta., is the longest and highest bridge of its type on Earth.

Farming’s hottest boomtown

Guide Canada: Lethbridge has emerged as one of Canada’s hottest centres of farm and ag entrepreneurialism. How hot is that? Well, read on…

Reading Time: 11 minutes Ask anyone what they think of when they think of Alberta, and the same handful of images always come to mind. Think Banff, Jasper and the rolling foothills for a start. Now, add Lethbridge, especially if you’re a farmer. Then think excitement. Young people might be fleeing other parts of rural Canada, but not here. […] Read more