“It’s all based on your contribution to the profits,” says Rod Bradshaw, here with Shelley and sons.

Teamwork makes the dream work for this group of Alberta farmers

These five Alberta farms have built a co-op that reduces their costs, increases their efficiency, and gets them into markets they otherwise couldn’t tap. The big question is, could it work for you too?

Reading Time: 10 minutes For these five adventurous Alberta farmers, a co-op is more than a way to structure operations. It’s more, too, than the camaraderie and the mutual support they get from working together with the same goal in mind, important though that is. For this group, it’s also about profitability, and about efficiency, and about enhancing their […] Read more

ICE May 2020 canola with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola market floating headline to headline

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market moved lower during the week ended Wednesday, but activity was choppy as futures reacted to broad swings in global financial markets. While the looming growing season should be starting to garner some attention, the COVID-19 pandemic “has grabbed all of the headlines and all of the oxygen out […] Read more


Fresh snowfall in Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge area on April 8, 2020. (GFM Staff)

Cold spring weather expected for Prairies

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Temperatures in the Prairie provinces are expected to be colder than average this spring. “There’s no indication that temperatures will be above normal,” said Bruce Burnett, director of markets and weather for MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. Low temperatures will likely cause issues for seeding in areas of the Prairies that have received late-spring snowstorms. […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Pandemic to delay StatsCan’s agriculture reports

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Farmers, commodity traders and market analysts will have to wait a while for agriculture-related reports from Statistics Canada in 2020. The main reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Seay, an analyst with StatsCan’s agriculture, energy, environment and transportation statistics branch in Ottawa. “Given the COVID-19 outbreak, senior management is […] Read more


Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Strong demand supports prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices on the Prairies have been stronger, and well supported by strong demand. Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in Lethbridge said strong feed barley prices were due to an uptick in exports from the Prairie provinces. “That provided a nice support to the price floor,” he said, noting market participants had previously […] Read more

(Bouillante/iStock/Getty Images)

Plummeting french fry sales have potato growers re-evaluating

Restaurant closures slash demand, though 'chip sales have been great'

Reading Time: 2 minutes French fry sales are down across North America as tens of thousands of restaurants have closed during COVID-19, meaning the potato industry has to adapt quickly. Companies that turn potatoes into french fries, wedges and hash browns are slowing down, because there isn’t enough space to store all the frozen product. In Alberta and Manitoba, […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn slumps as ethanol production hits decade low

Improved U.S. wheat crop ratings raise expectations of bumper supplies

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures slumped on Wednesday, giving up part of the previous session’s gains, as the U.S. government reported the U.S. ethanol industry saw a near-decade low in weekly production amid massive stocks. Wheat futures followed in mid-day trading, as investors squared up their positions ahead of Thursday’s world agriculture supply […] Read more

Giving wheat midge a few susceptible wheat plants to feed on ensures that the resistant population doesn’t eventually take over.

A decade of midge-tolerant wheat

New varieties are in the pipeline for CWRS and SWS classes

Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the past 10 years, western Canadian farmers have deliberately seeded 27 million acres of wheat susceptible to orange blossom wheat midge — and saved themselves an estimated $1 billion in lost yield and quality. To be clear, only 10 per cent of the seed on those acres was susceptible to midge, and that’s been […] Read more


Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Prices mostly steady ahead of seeding

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — As farmers decide what to plant in 2020, Dale McManus of Johnston’s Grain at Welwyn, Sask. hasn’t seen any significant deviation from what producers normally buy for pulse seed. “Red lentils, green lentils, green and yellow peas,” McManus cited among the pulses being purchased. Also, he noted, prices have remained quite steady in […] Read more

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

U.S. grains: Corn rally sputters, wheat slides on growing conditions

Soybeans up, eyes on South American crop

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A rally in Chicago corn futures on Tuesday that was buoyed by a run-up in the energy market sputtered by day’s end as crude oil prices slipped. May corn futures climbed nearly two per cent in mid-day trading, but cut gains in half as crude oil prices closed down for a […] Read more