Alberta Archives | Country Guide

Klassen: Feeder market in summer mode

Set-aside program not having much effect yet on prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged. Volumes are quite thin at this time of year, which makes the market hard to define. Steady demand surfaced on quality groups of yearlings and calves, while late stragglers and heavier-flesh feeders were severely discounted. Pasture conditions are favourable across the Prairies and […] Read more

Barley, Crops, Markets

Feed weekly outlook: Prices to soften as new crop year nears

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm 6 days ago

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat will decline as the new crop year gets closer, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader with Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. Harakal said the new crop should start coming off of the fields around the end of August and the beginning of September. “Usually at this time […] Read more

General, Weather

Prairie summer weather patterns to hold for now

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm July 8, 2020

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — No major changes in the current weather patterns on the Prairies are expected at this time, according to a pair of weather experts. So far this summer, the region’s weather has been highlighted by warmer and generally drier conditions in the eastern Prairies, while the western portion has been cooler with a great […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Weather

Attention turns to yield potential after StatsCan report

Future tweaks to acreage numbers seen as unlikely to sway markets

By Phil Franz-Warkentin - MarketsFarm June 29, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada came largely within market expectations, with the focus now shifting to growing conditions and yield potential. The survey was completed in early June “and may not have captured all of the seeding delays and potential shifts that may have happened in central/northern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan because […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Weather

Canola area expected to be lower in Monday’s StatsCan report

Later-seeded areas expected to add pulse, barley, durum acres

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm June 27, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Market participants generally expect canola acreage will be revised downward in a second acreage estimate due out Monday from Statistics Canada. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about canola acres,” Ken Ball of P.I. International in Winnipeg said, noting acreage was “definitely lost” in central and northern Alberta due to wet spring conditions. In […] Read more

Crops, Markets

Aurora Cannabis to shut five Canadian grows

Closures mean layoffs for 30 per cent of firm's production staff

By Dave Bedard June 23, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes Edmonton marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis is poised to close five of its grow sites across Canada and lay off almost a third of its production workforce. The company on Tuesday announced next steps in the “business transformation plan” it launched in February to “better align the business financially with the current realities of the cannabis […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Flea beetle damage ‘moderate’ across Prairies so far

Levels in Manitoba hit thresholds for spraying, reseeding canola

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm June 23, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Flea beetles, cutworms and diamondback moths are only a few of the pests Prairie farmers have to deal with — and this year, so far, damage from flea beetles and cutworms has varied, as have moth counts. “Flea beetles are common throughout the Prairies, everywhere we grow canola. We haven’t been able to […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Weaker fed cattle prices weigh on feeder market

Rain-soaked pens sidelined some Alberta feedlots

By Jerry Klassen June 16, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged but a softer tone was noted in the non-major feeding regions. Most auction barns are in summer mode and the quality of feeders coming on the market is quite variable. However, at major centers in Alberta, healthy strings of yearlings were well bid […] Read more

Barley, Crops, Markets

Feed weekly outlook: Barley prices close to ceiling

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm June 11, 2020

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed barley prices, which climbed during May, have very likely risen as far as they can go, said Nelson Neumann, senior trader with Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. “We’re at the point where corn can be a cheaper alternative. There’s a ceiling on the market and we’re pretty much at that ceiling,” Neumann […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Canadian feeder market divorces from U.S. values

By Jerry Klassen June 9, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged. Lower volumes were on offer across the Prairies and the quality was quite variable at smaller sales. Many auction barns are in summer mode; however, there were decent volumes in the major feeding regions of Alberta. Strong feedlot demand was evident on quality […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy up after crop ratings dip

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures drift lower on beef demand worries

Elanco forgoes Canadian poultry insecticide rights for Bayer deal

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