(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada’s oat acres look to rise in 2017

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– Canadian oat acres will likely be up in 2017, as relatively favourable cash prices draw in interest from producers, according to an oats merchandiser. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) oat futures have climbed sharply higher over the past month, but are still trading at a discount to the relatively steady cash market. […] Read more

Eastern Ontario producers will benefit from Easton, one of two new hard red spring wheat varieties available for 2017.

New in spring cereals

They may not be large-acre crops, but their growers are dedicated

Reading Time: 3 minutes Production of spring wheat, oats and barley follows some rather rigid realities from one year to the next. It’s true that spring cereals are a tougher sell across most of Eastern Canada; there are more acres of soybeans or corn than there are of spring cereals combined. Yet it’s also a fact that those who […] Read more


Figure 1.

Pest Patrol: Farmers are reducing weed seed return after cereal harvest

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 3 minutes I was driving down a long country road and noticed two large fields where winter wheat had been harvested almost eight weeks earlier. Each had a beautiful thick canopy of oats. Figure 1 (at top). An oat cover crop planted almost eight weeks ago following winter wheat harvest. That same day, when I came across […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Rising oats bids possibly nearing top

Reading Time: < 1 minute Commodity News Service Canada – Oats futures at the Chicago Board of Trade and cash bids in Western Canada have shown some strength over the past month, but may not have much more room to the upside. “There was a bit of a panic in late October that pushed cash prices higher,” said Scott Shiels, […] Read more



(CN.ca)

CN feels Prairie harvest delays in Q3 revenues

Reading Time: 2 minutes Weather-related stalls in this fall’s Prairie grain harvest have chipped away at Canadian National Railway’s (CN) third-quarter financials, as the railway booked lower profits and revenues on “shifting traffic demands.” Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported overall net income of $972 million on $3.014 billion in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, down from $1.007 […] Read more


(CPR.ca)

CP to chart weekly grain handling performance online

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian Pacific Railway plans to launch a new weekly “supply chain scorecard” next week, to chart its own performance handling Prairie grain. The Calgary company announced the new program Friday for an online launch Wednesday (Oct. 19), noting the scorecard “will include, when necessary, detailed information on any internal or external factors affecting grain movement” as […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Oat crop quality varies with moisture damage

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Oat quality is mixed across Western Canada, one buyer says, as moisture caused damage to not-yet-harvested grains. “Any oats that are still out there that have had substantial amounts of rain are likely not going to make milling spec,” said Ryan McKnight of Linear Grain. The portion of production usable for the […] Read more


Drought at Swift Current affected the study results, but over the long term, red clover should also provide advantages when included in the rotation in drier areas.

Growing your own N

New research in Saskatchewan proves forage rotations of only two years can provide a valuable fertility boost

Reading Time: 3 minutes When Duane Thompson talks about sustainability, he makes no bones about the fact that nothing is sustainable unless it’s economical for the farmer. “Sustainability is a nice notion but you want to be improving and getting better,” he says. “I’m not really big on sustainability — I want to be sustainable-plus.” Thompson is a case […] Read more