“Exceptional” crop ratings in Alberta

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has released its biweekly crop report for July 24. The provincial summary follows. The full report is available alongside. Alberta has seen the return to more seasonal temperatures over the past several weeks following the hot weather experienced two weeks ago. Sporadic light and heavy showers were reported in all […] Read more

Spreading the word on Ontario hay listings

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Ontario Forage Council launched the Ontario Hay Listing Service in July 2008 and has attracted close to 470,000 hits to date from across Canada, the USA and destinations as far away as the Middle East, China, Jordan and United Kingdom. We have responded to the needs of both hay producers and purchasers, who have both […] Read more


Crossing Canada with a Massey pulling a farmhouse

Reading Time: 3 minutes John Varty and his fiancée Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — more details here. They will be posting […] Read more

Corn and soy prices heading for big monthly gain

Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybeans rallied nearly 3 per cent on Monday on fears that the crippling U.S. drought would further shrink the crop in the world’s top grains exporter. The rally pushed prices toward their biggest monthly gain in more than four years. Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose more than 2 per cent, […] Read more


CWB announces initial payments

Reading Time: < 1 minute CWB, formerly the Canadian Wheat Board, has announced 2012-13 initial payments for farmers who contract wheat, durum and malting barley to its Early Delivery Pool and Harvest Pool. In a statement, CWB said the Government of Canada continues to guarantee most of the initial payments and approves the basic levels at which they are set. […] Read more

Dueling events to mark dual market

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Wheat Board, at least as we’ve known it since 1943, comes to an end at midnight on Tuesday, July 31. At least three events are planned, each with a different perspective. CWB officials, who have already stopped using the organization’s old name, hold a news conference Tuesday morning to mark the "historic move […] Read more


U.S. corn futures continue to rise on drought

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were higher on Friday on continued deterioration of the U.S. corn crop as the worst drought in over a half a century takes a toll on crop production.  Informa Economics cut its estimate for 2012 corn yield to 134.0 bushels per acre from the previous 142.5 and trimmed soy […] Read more

Ontario farmer continues dairy fight

Reading Time: < 1 minute An Ontario dairy farmer is appealing his conviction of producing, selling and distributing raw milk to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Michael Schmidt, who farms northwest of Toronto, was charged in 2006 following an undercover police sting operation into his dairy business, which supplied 150 families with raw milk. Each family had paid $300 for […] Read more


Drought taking heavy toll on us fishing industry

Reading Time: 2 minutes The drought and extreme heat wreaking havoc across the U.S. farm belt is killing fish by the thousands in lakes and rivers and could pose a problem to migrating ducks and other waterfowl if it stretches into the fall, officials said. Authorities are tallying up the losses which could run into the millions of dollar […] Read more

Churchill shipments expected to remain high

Reading Time: 2 minutes Exports from the Port of Churchill are expected to remain high, as grain companies have used up nearly all of the incentive money offered by the federal government. The port will also be busy exporting new commodities this year. "There’s a very small percentage of the incentive remaining for this year, and there’s upwards of […] Read more