Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie wheat and canola crops are looking generally good despite being behind in development, but yields could still be impacted by disease and insect problems, crop specialists said. “By and large, the canola crops look really good,” said Harry Brook, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development at Stettler. “A concern for farmers is […] Read more
Prairie wheat, canola still susceptible to pests, diseases
Prairie flax prices trending downward
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian flax prices have lost close to $1 per bushel in recent weeks, and the trend is expected to continue leading up to harvest, according to Kevin Silzer, broker at Rayglen Commodities in Saskatoon. “I think flax has been following the general markets right now,” he said. “There’s also a little bit of pressure […] Read more
U.S. soy, corn futures seen on pace for extreme lows
Reading Time: 2 minutes After a drought-filled growing season in 2012-13 that pushed soybean and corn prices extremely high, U.S. soy and corn are on pace to produce bumper crops in 2013-14 — and both markets are seeing a huge reversal in prices because of it. With each crop entering important development phases and receiving favourable weather, Sterling Smith, […] Read more
Oat prices trend down due to large U.S. corn crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian oat prices have been weakening recently and that trend is expected to continue into the near future due to an expected record-large U.S. corn crop, a Vancouver oat market analyst says. “Oats track corn,” said Randy Strychar of Ag Commodity Research. “It’ll continue to track it because there’s a strong statistical correlation between oats […] Read more
Hog producers post summer profits, fall outlook bearish
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s hog producers posted profits during the summer months, but the market outlook heading into the fall is filled with uncertainty, according to the general manager for h@ms Marketing Services. “From mid-May to present, I would suggest that most producers have made money,” Perry Mohr says. “However, I think people are kind of getting disillusioned […] Read more
Old-crop barley prices seen dropping significantly
Reading Time: < 1 minute The new-crop barley harvest is roughly two weeks away in southern Alberta, meaning old-crop prices are expected to drop sharply in the near term, says an Alberta broker. “There still is a huge inverse of old to new crop and that’s starting to reconcile itself,” said Jim Beusekom, grain broker with Market Place Commodities in […] Read more
Edible beans – different stories in Ontario and Manitoba
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a tale of two very different edible bean crops in Ontario and Manitoba this season. While the warm July weather has been favourable for Manitoba crops, extreme moisture in mid-June has caused a lot of water damage to Ontario beans. “The crops are reasonable this season, but there’s quite a bit of water […] Read more
Stronger demand stabilizes mustard prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Strong export demand for Canadian mustard from the U.S. and Europe has stabilized new crop prices as harvest continues to near, Patrick Ackerman, chair of the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission (SMDC), said. “Mustard seed acres have been down the last few years and there’s demand across the world for the product, so they are having […] Read more
Prairie forage yields look promising
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian Prairie forage crops are in the process of being cut and baled for the first time this growing season, and yield outlooks are very encouraging, forage specialists said. In Saskatchewan, farmers have cut 20 per cent to 50 per cent of their forage crops, Bill Biligetu, forage management specialist for the Government of Saskatchewan, […] Read more
Warm August, wet fall seen for Prairies
Reading Time: < 1 minute Warm, dry weather conditions in the Canadian Prairies are expected to continue during August, before making way to a wet fall, Drew Lerner, senior agriculture meteorologist with World Weather Inc. in Kansas City, said. “I think we’ll be going back into a wetter bias later in the growing season, and it’ll linger into the early […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
