ICE Futures May 2020 canola (candlesticks) and CBOT May 2020 soybean oil (yellow line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola gains strength at midweek

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — After showing considerable weakness in prior trading sessions, canola contracts tried to regain some ground at midweek. Ken Ball of P.I. Financial in Winnipeg said canola was oversold due to bearish sentiments from outside markets earlier in the week, but prices were steadily bouncing back. Nearby ICE Futures canola was down Monday by […] Read more

Jennifer and Michael Doelman grew this crop of canola and 4010-type forage peas on their farm at Renfrew, Ontario. They will “absolutely” try the crop again in 2020.

Two farmers make the case for pea-canola intercropping

Growing two crops in the same field sounds like it could be difficult, but these two farmers have figured it out and say the result is higher profit

Reading Time: 9 minutes Intercropping is an ancient farming practice. Farmers in Meso-america thousands of years ago started growing “the three sisters” — corn, beans and squash — together in the same fields, letting the symbiotic nature of their biologies provide an overall better result than growing them separately. Strong cornstalks provided a “pole” for the climbing beans. Beans […] Read more


“Put two crops together, and you have less disease overall and the oilseed crop is able to take advantage of the pulse benefits in that year…”

Two research projects looking at intercrops

Western Ag Innovations run intercrop trials in southern Alberta

Reading Time: 4 minutes Eric Bremer is leading a research project on intercropping in the Lethbridge area. Bremer was involved in intercropping research as a grad student back in the 1980s and jumped at the opportunity to look at it again with the support of Western Ag Innovations owner Ken Greer and a research grant from Alberta Pulse Growers […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Funds add to net short position in canola

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Fund traders put more new bearish bets on canola in the second week of April, adding to their net short position, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The net managed money short position in ICE Futures canola came in Tuesday at 38,129 […] Read more


ICE May 2020 canola (candlesticks, in Cdn$) and CBOT May 2020 soymeal (yellow line, US$). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Loonie’s rally kept canola lower

CBOT soymeal, soyoil also drag on canola

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canola prices dropped over the last week due to a combination of factors, according to David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg. The Canadian dollar was one of those factors, as it had a small rally that pushed the loonie to almost 72 U.S. cents. That rally ended Wednesday, however, when the dollar […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Funds still net-short on canola

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Fund traders were on both sides of the canola market during the first week of April, reducing their net short position slightly, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The net managed money short position in ICE Futures canola came in April 7 […] Read more


Canola seed, oil and meal. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

February’s oilseed crush lower than January’s

Canola, soybean crush down on month, StatsCan reports

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — As has often been the case, February 2020’s oilseed crush was lower than January’s, according to Statistics Canada’s latest report released Thursday. More than 812,600 tonnes of canola were crushed in February, down 4.9 per cent from January. Also, there were 144,260 tonnes of soybeans crushed in February, for a drop of 10.7 […] Read more

ICE May 2020 canola with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola market floating headline to headline

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market moved lower during the week ended Wednesday, but activity was choppy as futures reacted to broad swings in global financial markets. While the looming growing season should be starting to garner some attention, the COVID-19 pandemic “has grabbed all of the headlines and all of the oxygen out […] Read more


Fresh snowfall in Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge area on April 8, 2020. (GFM Staff)

Cold spring weather expected for Prairies

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Temperatures in the Prairie provinces are expected to be colder than average this spring. “There’s no indication that temperatures will be above normal,” said Bruce Burnett, director of markets and weather for MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. Low temperatures will likely cause issues for seeding in areas of the Prairies that have received late-spring snowstorms. […] Read more

Bob Bartley checks on his canola stand establishment in early June 2019.

Getting to higher canola emergence

With consistent depth, placement into warm, moist soils, and good competition against weeds, your canola fields can turn a higher percentage of seeds into mature, high-yielding plants

Reading Time: 7 minutes Bob and Shelley Bartley raised some eyebrows when Shelley shared photos of their seeding tool on Twitter. The farmers from Roland, Man., seed with a 35-year-old John Deere hoe box drill attached to a new John Deere cart. “I bought that John Deere 9450 hoe drill for $17,000 way back when,” Bob Bartley says. “We […] Read more