K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat with 20-day moving average and Minneapolis July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line). (Barchart)

Prairie cash wheat: U.S. futures lift spring wheat bids

Durum prices down on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Western Canadian spring wheat bids were the beneficiaries of rising U.S. futures prices for the week ended Thursday. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were under pressure early in the week due to healthy yet ineffective rains over wheat-growing areas in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised the […] Read more

A smoke column rises from a wildfire on May 4, 2023 near Lodgepole, Alta., about 30 km southwest of Drayton Valley. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire handout via Reuters)

Fire and floods across Western Canada force evacuations

Western Alberta towns of Edson, Drayton Valley ordered to evacuate

Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — A week of record-hot weather in Western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia. By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta. As of late Friday afternoon, 91 fires […] Read more


Photo: File

Feed weekly outlook: Futures pressure Canadian prices

Some buyers still seeking coverage

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Prices for feed grains in Western Canada continue to ease off, but seasonal activity isn’t the only reason contributing to the declines. Erin Harakal, trade manager at Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta., said futures markets are also playing their part in pressuring feed grain prices. “Especially with the wheat markets due to […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder cattle supplies remain snug

Feedlots expect significantly cheaper barley come harvest

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$4 on either side of unchanged. Premium low-flesh yearlings were one off bids $15-$20 above average. Cattle buyers commented that there were larger volumes of fleshier yearlings. Cattle with heavier butter levels were discounted from our listed values by $5 to as much as $10. […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids drop sharply

U.S. wheat futures well down on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada dropped sharply lower during the last week of April, as a selloff in U.S. futures more than offset any support from a weaker Canadian dollar. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down by $25.90-$27.50 per tonne across the Prairies, according […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu outbreaks climb in Quebec poultry

Thirteen outbreaks reported in province so far in April

Reading Time: 2 minutes After a relatively quiet March with just one outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry, Quebec has turned up 13 outbreaks so far this month. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency in April has reported detections of high-path avian flu at 13 sites in that province, including: three commercial barns in the regional county […] Read more


Photo: Canada Beef

Klassen: Positive feeding margins lift feeder complex

Futures continue percolating higher

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings traded steady to $5/cwt higher. Feeders in the 650- to 800-lb. category appeared to jump $4/cwt to as much as $8/cwt in some cases. Calves under 650 lbs. were up $5-$10/cwt. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in southern Alberta on a live basis at $222/cwt f.o.b. the […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Red wheats up slightly on week

Prairie durum values down on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite adverse weather conditions in both Canada and the U.S., as well as poor growing conditions south of the border, western Canadian wheat bids saw slight increases for the week ended Thursday. A spring snowstorm descended on eastern Saskatchewan, western Manitoba and North Dakota on Wednesday and Thursday, with some parts seeing up […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Quiet times appear to be ahead

Significant weather event would maybe move prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — As feed grain prices on the Canadian Prairies remain relatively stable, the market appear to be “moving to a quiet summer,” according to Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. “Demand remains neutral to weak, and farmers are holding on to their grain that’s left in the bin,” Motz explained, noting feedlots […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas heading in different directions

Export demand seen down for yellows

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Prices for green and yellow peas have been starting to move further apart, according to Levon Sargsyan, grain broker with Johnston’s Grain at Welwyn, Sask. Sargsyan pointed out that prices for yellow peas have been slipping back recently. “Export demand has dropped overseas, so that’s been pushing the yellow pea prices down. The […] Read more