Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s incumbent agriculture minister and official opposition ag critic both appear set to return to the legislature as Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives (UCP) are expected to form a majority government. At about 1 a.m. Alberta time on Tuesday, Smith’s UCP was elected or leading in 49 of 87 constituencies; all remaining 38 went to […] Read more
Alberta ag minister, ag critic hang onto seats in election
Governing UCP retains smaller majority
Prairie Forecast Update: A few small tweaks
Forecast issued May 28, covering the period from May 29 to 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute The weather regime across southern and central Canada is currently being dominated by a large sprawling surface high over eastern regions with a slowly digging trough of low pressure over the West Coast. The flows around these two features have been producing warm summer-like conditions across the eastern Prairies with slightly cooler conditions as you […] Read more
Pre-election reports analyze Alberta’s ag issues
Three reports focus on party histories, ag sector concerns, current platforms
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta farmers’ concerns with provincial policy, and the two major parties’ stances on those concerns, are the subjects of a three-part analysis leading up to a provincial election on Monday. The Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy, a think tank operating out of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, says its three […] Read more
Olymel to idle multiple Prairie hog barns
Packer cites 'continued financial losses' in sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pork packer Olymel is preparing to dial back its hog production in Western Canada by shuttering six of its sow units in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Olymel, the agrifood arm of Quebec’s Sollio Cooperative Group, announced Friday it has served 80 employees with layoff notices at five sow units in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. The […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat bids drop
Influx of cheap Russian wheat largely responsible for price declines
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Red spring wheat bids in Western Canada were down, while durum prices were mixed during the week ended May 25, after the release of bearish data. On May 23, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) presented its monthly principal field crop report, which estimated 2023-24 wheat production (including durum) at 35.75 million tonnes. This […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Rain falls, grain prices to follow
U.S. corn values expected to decline
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices in Western Canada are showing the usual seasonal weakness as spring seeding continues, but prices are set to fall further. “I think as we get going, (prices) are going to lower down quite a bit,” Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Ltd. at Lethbridge said. “The corn market over the next […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Better growing conditions despite dryness, smoke
Continued smoky skies could slow crop development
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — While dry conditions persist across the Prairies, the current situation for pulses is not as bad as during the two previous springs, according to Pulse Canada’s director of market access and trade policy. Mac Ross said dryness is largely evident across Western Canada and many crops are still below their five-year averages for […] Read more
NEW FEATURE: Prairie Forecast: Summerlike conditions moving in
Forecast issued May 24, 2023, covering May 24-31, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes As we head into the final week of May, it is looking to be very summerlike across much of the Prairies. Currently there is a strong area of cool high pressure centred over the Great Lakes. This area of high pressure is what brought cool and windy conditions to the eastern Prairies on Wednesday. As […] Read more
Klassen: Weather forecasts underpin feeder market
High forage costs pose problem for cow-calf expansion
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier. The finishing feedlot operator appears to be dominating the feeder market across all weight categories. Ontario interest was creeping all the way into Alberta, especially for Limousin-type genetics. There were limited numbers on offer in Manitoba and Saskatchewan […] Read more
Prairie Forecast Update: A few small tweaks
Update issued May 21, 2023, covering May 21-24, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes The weather models are continuing to do a good job with the short- to medium-range forecasts, but there have been a couple of small changes that have been slowly working into the forecast. Weak troughing off the West Coast is still forecasted to kick off the development of a leeside low in Alberta. This low […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
