Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Last weekend’s dump of snow coupled with cold temperatures brought the Alberta harvest to a complete halt, according to the province’s latest crop report. For the week ended Oct. 1, the province-wide harvest managed to improve to 33.7 per cent from 28.1 per cent the previous week. This year’s pace was slightly above […] Read more
Snow, cold grind Alberta harvest to virtual standstill
Alberta proposes heavier penalties for on-farm trespassing
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s government proposes to discourage future on-farm protests — events in the style of an occupation held early last month at an Alberta Hutterite colony’s turkey farm — on pain of new penalties. Speaking Thursday at the Jumbo Valley colony near Fort Macleod, Premier Jason Kenney, Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer and Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Snowfall boosts spot barley bids
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Spot barley prices have received support from last weekend’s snows in southern Alberta, but the major barley-growing regions were mostly spared. While the cold and wet weather has delayed harvest activity, a promising forecast should allow for harvest to resume in the Red Deer area, where most of the barley crop is located. […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Upside limited for canola’s snow boost
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — An unwelcomed early winter storm sent ICE Futures canola contracts higher during the week ended Wednesday, but it will take outside support to sustain a rally, according to industry participants. Snow in Alberta and Saskatchewan and cool and wet conditions in Manitoba slowed harvest operations during the week, with about 60 per cent […] Read more
Late Canadian mustard crop facing quality downgrades
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — An early blast of snow and cold across the Prairies has delayed harvest operations for a mustard crop already running behind normal, with quality downgrades expected for any mustard still in the field. “It has to be absolutely flattened,” said mustard buyer Walter Dyck of Olds Products at Lethbridge on the effect of […] Read more
Alberta snow further delays canola harvest, boosts prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canola futures finished up at Monday’s close, boosted by a weather premium after a low-pressure system brought considerable snowfall to parts of Alberta over the weekend. Snow was mostly concentrated in the southern region of the province. Calgary and surrounding areas received around 30 centimetres of snow, according to preliminary results from Environment […] Read more
Snow to stall harvests for western Prairies, Montana
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — A weekend storm is poised to bring more than a foot (30.5 cm) of snow to parts of Montana and the Canadian Prairies, putting portions of the region’s spring wheat and canola crops at risk, a meteorologist said. Excessively wet conditions in the region this month have already slowed fieldwork and […] Read more
Alberta to lift residency rule for public grazing lands
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta government plans to remove a restriction on non-Albertans’ use of public lands for grazing, in a bid to smooth out paths for interprovincial trade. The province on Saturday announced it will do away with eight of its declared exceptions under the interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Of the eight, three deal with […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market experiences softer demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to the previous week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $4-$6 lower on average; calves were down $5 to as much as $10 in some cases. U.S. feeder cattle markets were also down $5-$8 from seven days earlier. The extended period of negative feeding margins appears to be taking a toll on the feeder market. […] Read more
Is western separation a real possibility? The cost of Alberta secession
Why is it farmers will tour countless variety plots and study mounds of test data to find a one or two per cent yield advantage, yet are willing to bet the farm on key structural changes based on nothing more than political slogans?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Case in point: Once again western separation has become a hot topic. Many readers will argue this shouldn’t be taken seriously; it’s just coffee-shop talk. But is it? In February an Angus Reid Institute poll showed 50 per cent of Albertans would support secession from Canada. Since then Premier Jason Kenney on multiple occasions has […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
