Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Drought conditions persisted across much of the Prairies during the month of March, although the extent and severity of the dryness was reduced in many areas, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). “While there have been substantial improvements to drought conditions across Western Canada since last […] Read more
Drought severity easing across much of Prairies, AAFC reports
Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan growers wait for rain
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — As the snow melts on the Prairies, pulse growers are making their final preparations before seeding, while at the same time hoping not to see a repeat of last year’s historic drought. In Saskatchewan, snow cover has varied in pulse-growing areas, making some growers nervous. “There’s still a lot of concern about dryness […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prices likely to hold firm after CP stoppage
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed prices have remained fairly steady over the last week and are likely to continue to do so in the coming week, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader for Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. “I don’t see anything drastically changing in the next week,” she said. Harakal added there was nervousness in the […] Read more
U.N. to roll out global early-warning systems for extreme weather
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters –– With climate change fueling dangerous weather worldwide, the United Nations is pledging that early-warning weather monitoring will cover everyone on the planet in five years. “Half of humanity is already in the danger zone,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier this week. And yet, “one-third of the world’s people, mainly in […] Read more
AAFC warns of uncertainty in latest crop outlook
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The supply/demand balance sheets for Canada’s major crops were largely left unchanged in the latest outlook Friday from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. While the March report only saw minor revisions, the government agency cautioned that “the economic outlook, for the world and Canadian grain markets, is particularly uncertain due to the Russian invasion […] Read more
CP to lock out engineers, conductors starting Sunday
'Cannot prolong the uncertainty,' CEO says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian Pacific Railway has served its unionized engineers, conductors and train and yard service staff with notice of a lockout to start just after midnight ET on Sunday, unless the company and union agree on a new labour deal by then. Calgary-based CP and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents about 3,000 CP […] Read more
Oil content of Canada’s canola well below average in 2021
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The average oil content of Canada’s canola crop came in well below normal in 2021-22, according to the final quality report for the year from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The average oil content came in at only 41.3 per cent for the year, which compares with 44.1 per cent the previous year […] Read more
Rate of rise in farmland value ‘surprised’ in 2021
Canada books 8.3 per cent year-over-year increase, FCC reports
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite a year of economic uncertainty due to extreme weather, reduced crop yields and the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of Canadian farmland rose by its highest rate in four years, according to a report from Farm Credit Canada (FCC). FCC’s report, released Monday, revealed that the national average value of farmland increased by […] Read more
Most of Prairies still very dry, but recovery possible
Southern Manitoba considered out of drought
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Despite the Prairies receiving above-normal amounts of precipitation during February, the great majority of the region remained highly vulnerable to more dryness going into spring, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. The monitor’s latest report showed those areas of the Prairies tackling extreme drought to have retracted somewhat. As of Feb. 28, that […] Read more
Rye in strong position going into 2022
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Last summer’s drought sharply reduced yields of many crops across the Prairies, leaving multiple supply challenges and rising prices in the aftermath. Western Canadian rye, however, was largely left unscathed, which may bode well for the crop heading into 2022. Rye production came in at 473,000 tonnes for 2021-22, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more