Waterhemp towers above a soybean canopy.

Pest Patrol: How accurate are plant identification apps when it comes to weeds?

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Recommendations for plant identification apps were recently making the rounds on social media. Of course it would be nice to accurately identify an unknown weed in your field by taking a picture instead of sending it to an “expert” or a diagnostic lab. However, many of the top-rated plant identification apps are not particularly accurate […] Read more

(File photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley finds support in lull between old, new crops

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed barley bids in Western Canada are seeing some modest strength in early September, as old-crop supplies run out and the new crop is not yet available. “Prices have definitely gone up this past week,” said Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities at Lethbridge. Expectations for a good 2020 crop had farmers making space […] Read more


ICE November 2020 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola shows volatility after long weekend

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Although there remains a lot of canola to be combined, one trader believes most harvest pressure on the market has already passed. “The farmers who wanted to sell off of the combine or shortly after, probably have done so already,” said Jerry Klassen, an independent Winnipeg commodities trader. There will still be some […] Read more

(Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Export demand underpins commodities

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Commodity prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have found support from recent increases in global export demand. China has purchased nearly 900,000 tonnes of soybeans for delivery during the current marketing year, which began on Sept. 1. “It’s all about Chinese demand,” said Terry Reilly of Futures International in Chicago. “They […] Read more


CBOT November 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy extends rally as China keeps buying

Data awaited from USDA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed on Wednesday to their highest in more than two years and recorded a 12th straight daily advance on continued export demand from China, coupled with worries about crop-killing frost in parts of the Midwest, analysts said. Wheat futures ended narrowly mixed while corn futures drifted lower in […] Read more

(PortOfThunderBay.com)

Grain traffic at Thunder Bay up 27 per cent on year

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Grain movement through the Port of Thunder Bay is reported to be up 27 per cent compared to the previous year halfway through the 2020 shipping season. A total of 5.05 million tonnes of grain were shipped through Thunder Bay as of Aug. 31, port officials said in a release. That compares with […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund traders add to net long in canola, soybeans

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Fund traders remain bullish on soybeans and canola, adding to their net long positions in the two oilseeds, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Managed money fund traders were holding a net long position in ICE Futures canola of 37,682 contracts as […] Read more

CBOT November 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans extend rally on Chinese demand

Wheat down as Australia lifts harvest forecast

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Tuesday to notch an 11th-straight higher daily close, supported by a mix of chart-based buying, continued demand from top global buyer China and worries about U.S. crop potential, analysts said. Corn futures also climbed while wheat futures fell as larger harvests in Australia signalled greater export […] Read more


Southwestern Ontario MP Lianne Rood will be the federal Conservatives’ new agriculture critic. (Video screengrab from LianneRood.ca)

Conservatives look to southern Ontario for new ag critic

O'Toole promotes deputy critic Lianne Rood to first chair

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal Conservatives’ new leader has gone to the other side of Toronto to find his new critic for agriculture and agri-food. Lianne Rood, the rookie MP for the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, was named Tuesday by fellow southern Ontario MP Erin O’Toole to replace southwestern Alberta MP John Barlow as the Conservatives’ shadow minister for […] Read more

Southern Alberta seed grower Greg Stamp in a field of KWS Daniello, a hybrid fall rye variety noted for its high resistance to ergot.

Rye sees a resurgence

New high-yielding hybrids with better ergot resistance are finding a home in the pasture and feedlot

Reading Time: 6 minutes Rye — arguably the runt of the litter among Prairie grains in recent decades — has staged something of a comeback. But this isn’t your granddaddy’s rye. Since 2016, rye’s acreage across the Prairies has been on a steady climb. Statistics Canada pegs last fall’s seedings at 352,500 acres, up from 225,000 four years ago, […] Read more