(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market experiences mixed tone

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged. Auction market volumes are growing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba; however, central Alberta prices held a definite premium of $8-$10 over the eastern Prairie regions. Ontario orders are starting to surface in Manitoba but prices were out of reach with Alberta […] Read more

Clubroot galls on a canola plant. (Video screengrab from Canola Council of Canada via YouTube)

Clubroot able to beat resistant canola reaches Manitoba

Reading Time: 3 minutes A strain of clubroot able to club the roots of some resistant canola varieties has made its way east to Manitoba. Manitoba’s agriculture department reported Friday that clubroot pathotype 3A — a strain that can “overcome some first-generation sources of genetic resistance” in commercial canola — has been positively identified in the south-central rural municipality […] Read more



Barley south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Old-, new-crop barley prices converge

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grains prices have been softening as old-crop and new-crop prices converge during harvest. Tracy Green, a grain broker with Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton, said Feedlot Alley is “well-covered” and waiting for harvest. However, buyers in central Alberta are seeing prices around $237 delivered for old-crop barley. For deliveries into Lethbridge for […] Read more



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Oats market steady, watching harvest

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Western Canada’s oats market is stable at prices a bit better than a year ago, as harvest gets underway and participants wait to see how much will move off the combine to the market. Early yield reports range anywhere from 80 to 140 bushels per acre, said Tyler Palmer, grain buyer with Emerson […] Read more


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Prairie hail claims pass 10,000 for year

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — More than 10,000 claims for hail damage have been filed by Prairie farmers so far in 2019 with insurance companies belonging to the Canadian Crop Hail Association. Between July 27 and Aug. 6, hail on the Prairies saw farmers add 900 claims alone, according to a CCHA press release Friday. To date overall, […] Read more

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

Pulse weekly outlook: Alberta markets optimistic despite weather

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Varied weather across Alberta has made for an unpredictable pulse harvest. “We’ve seen everything from drought-like conditions in the south, to an overabundance of water in the central region, and to some degree in the north as well,” said Leanne Fischbuch, executive director of Alberta Pulse. Despite less-than-favourable weather conditions, pulse producers are […] Read more


File photo of initial symptoms that may be seen the morning after a frost in canola. Depending on the amount of frost and weather conditions, either moderate damage or severe damage may develop. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Prairies at risk of frosty harvest

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Another dilemma is expected for the 2019 growing season: after a late start, western Canadian farmers could be challenged by an early end. Over the Aug. 10 weekend there were isolated reports of frost in some areas of the Peace region in northwestern Alberta. Other parts of the Prairies may be experiencing similar […] Read more

Sugar beets. (Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Alberta, Ontario sugar beet producers hope for good year

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Sugar beet farmers in Canada’s two main growing provinces are hoping for a good year, according to the leaders their respective provincial associations. Wet conditions extended planting in Ontario, said Rob McKerrall, chair of the Ontario Sugarbeet Growers’ Association (OSGA). “There was probably a third of the crop went in fairly early. It […] Read more