Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period, it's looking like the forecasted strong area of high pressure is going to dominate the weather across the Prairies. This should bring plenty of sunshine and warming temperatures. Overnight lows look to be seasonable, so at this point it doesn't look like we'll see heat warnings—but as usual you just never know.
Prairie forecast: Temperatures to warm up
Forecast issued Aug. 7, covering Aug. 7 to 14, 2024
Klassen: Feeder rally stalls
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending August 3, Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier. Strong buying interest continued on yearlings straight off grass; however, the “just get’em” type orders that were evident a week earlier now had limits. More cattle will come available in August and buyers are being more patient to see how the market develops.
Prairie forecast: Cooler weather coming, but little precipitation
Forecast issued July 31, covering July 31 to August 7, 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes It's looking like we'll soon see an end to the hot conditions of the last few weeks as upper ridging collapses and the upper flow across the Prairies moves to a straight west-to-east flow. Under this pattern, we should see textbook summer conditions. The only downside is there aren't many chances of precipitation.
Klassen: Western Canadian yearling prices hit fresh record highs
Reading Time: 2 minutes The year-over-year decline in last year’s calf crop has caused the market to set new records. Larger finishing feedlots are setting the price structure as many of these lots have seasonal low inventory. The quality of yearlings coming off grass is excellent with buyers shopping for feed efficiencies.
Alberta Crop Report: High temperatures damage crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Major crops were rated at 55.3 per cent good to excellent, down from 72.9 per cent the previous week. The south region’s crops were rated 77.2 per cent good to excellent, while the northeast region was at 62.5 per cent and the Peace region was at 57.3 per cent. Conditions in the northwest region fell to 37.7 per cent and the central region dropped to 32.4 per cent, for declines of 40.1 and 29.8 points, respectively.
Cereal leaf disease minimal in Alberta but be aware of blown-in stripe rust
Reading Time: < 1 minute The province received variable precipitation this spring which had pathologists and producers expecting the arrival of members of the leaf spot complex. However, Kelly Turkington with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lacombe Research and Development Centre said they may have been scorched by the July heat wave.
Prairie forecast: Heatwave coming to an end
Forecast issued July 24 covering July 24 to 31, 2024
Reading Time: 4 minutes Southern Alberta, southern and central Saskatchewan and Manitoba will see another day or two of hot weather before the northern low drags a cold front southward, which will bring an end to this extended heatwave.
Klassen: Feeder market leaps higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending July 20, Western Canadian yearlings traded $8-$15 above prices from seven days earlier. Values for larger groups of quality calves were up $8 to $10 from a week earlier while run of the mill smaller packages were relatively unchanged.
Alberta crops holding their own for now
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta reported its crops were still in good shape despite temperatures pushing above 30 degrees Celsius and a lack of rain as of July 16. The report put the overall rating for the province’s crops at 74 per cent good to excellent, seven points above the five-year average.
ICE Weekly: Weather raising canola prices, trader says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ken Ball of Ventum Financial Corp. in Winnipeg acknowledged that while dryness and warmer temperatures would be seen as beneficial in rain-drenched fields in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, heat stress on canola crops in Alberta would be aggravated. This has led traders to become a bit more bullish on the oilseed.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
