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Feed weekly outlook: Barley prices correct off recent highs

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed markets in Western Canada have softened slightly following a jump in prices earlier this month. Nelson Neumann, a grain trader for Agfinity, said barley supply was tight earlier in the month as buyers rushed to secure their feed before spring road bans, seeding season and poor weather conditions hampered deliveries. “We saw […] Read more

AC Foremost red spring wheat at Killam, Alta. The left side represents standard agronomic management while the right side includes standard agronomic management plus 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre applied prior to stem elongation. It also includes applications of plant growth regulator, flag fungicide and head fungicide. The plot was part of a three-year project in Alberta dedicated to identifying yield-maximizing practices in wheat and barley.

Sorting out the stacks

New research in Alberta suggests big yield gains for wheat when combining some agronomic practices — especially dual fungicide applications

Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers experiment with their agronomic practices all the time. It’s not uncommon to see them “stack” inputs, for instance by combining fertilizer, plant growth regulators (PGRs) and fungicides to see which combinations boost their yields. But until recently, there has been little in the way of small-plot research into the yield potential of stacking agronomic […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Spring weather may swing Prairie feed markets

Reading Time: 1 minute MarketsFarm — Weather conditions have the potential to swing feed grain markets in Western Canada over the next few weeks, although prices generally remain steady for the time being. “Spring is here, and as the snow melts it creates mud, road bans and all that lovely stuff,” said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities in Lacombe, […] Read more



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U.S. wins WTO ruling on Chinese grains

Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States won a World Trade Organization ruling on China’s price support for grains, successfully challenging a calculation methodology that is also used by India. A WTO adjudication panel agreed on Thursday with the U.S. complaint that China had paid farmers too much for wheat, Indica rice and Japonica rice […] Read more

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Feed weekly outlook: Market aims to ration tight barley supplies

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tightening feed barley supplies in Western Canada have end-users looking to alternatives, with cheaper U.S. corn imports likely to keep a lid on prices. “Barley stocks are tight, so the market is trying to ration the amount of barley being used and it’s doing a pretty good job of that,” said Jim Beusekom of Market […] Read more


Jim Dyck in a field of ORe3541M oats at Sanderson farm near Portage la Prairie, Man., in 2017.

Do-it-yourself plant breeding

Jim Dyck’s new oat varieties have been a decade in the making, but his hard work is about to pay off

Reading Time: 3 minutes If there are any oat producers who haven’t heard of Jim Dyck, that’s soon going to change. Jim and his wife Laura-Lee, who farm near Saskatoon, are the owners of Oat Advantage, one of few private plant breeding businesses in Western Canada. This spring, their first registered oat varieties, ORe3541M and ORe3542M, will be marketed […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Low ending stocks supportive

Reading Time: < 1 minute With some of the lowest ending stocks in more than a generation, feed grain prices are doing quite well in Western Canada, said Ed Baldwin of AgChieve Grain Marketing in Winnipeg. Baldwin, AgChieve’s manager of advisory services, said Canada has its lowest ending stocks for feed grains in the last 35 years. On the world […] Read more


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

Barley ‘price war’ seen sparked by China, Saudi demand drop

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — A drop in demand from China and Saudi Arabia sent barley prices tumbling in recent weeks, despite low global supply, and price pressure may continue if harvest prospects for next season remain good, analysts at Strategie Grains said. The barley market rallied earlier in the 2018-19 season with weather-hit crops in […] Read more

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Feed weekly outlook: Markets steady amid cold Alberta weather

Reading Time: < 1 minute Excessively cold temperatures in Alberta may be causing headaches for both feed grain buyers and sellers, but prices remain relatively steady for what’s moving. The cold weather hasn’t really led to a significant increase in demand, but “it’s definitely made the farmer grumpy,” said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities in Lacombe, Alta. “In general, the […] Read more