Reading Time: 10 minutes [UPDATED: Jan. 11, 2021] Josh Oulton and his partner Patricia Bishop have grown flax on their Nova Scotia farm for nearly a decade, but not with an eye to the market that most Canadian flax growers are after. Instead, Oulton and Bishop grow varieties of flax that produce the plant-based fibre used to make linen, […] Read more
From flax in the field to shirt sleeves
Meet a Nuffield Canada farmer scholar with a vision for a value chain for Canadian-grown linen
Flax facing tightening supplies
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Solid export demand has pushed Canadian flax prices up sharply over the past month, with the market working to ration demand amid expectations for tightening supplies. The flax market in general is “just gone crazy. We’re up 50 per cent since the start of harvest,” Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada at Yorkton, […] Read more
Producer deliveries spike in June
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Grain deliveries in Canada increased 48.5 per cent from May to June, according to Statistics Canada in a report released today. The report, Producer Deliveries of Major Grains, showed more than 5.16 million tonnes of all grains were delivered by producers in June, compared to the approximately 3.54 million tonnes in May. It’s […] Read more
Merged Manitoba crop groups qualify for checkoffs
Manitoba Crop Alliance also names top brass
Reading Time: < 1 minute The new unit formed from the merger of five Manitoba crop commodity organizations is set to begin collecting checkoffs for its founding groups’ crops, starting Aug. 1. The Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) announced Monday it now has its designation under the provincial Agricultural Producers’ Organization Funding Act. The designation allows the new organization to collect […] Read more
Flax prices likely to remain flat
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Although autumn snowfall limited the quality of a lot of Prairie flax, its price has remained flat, according to Brian Johnson of Johnson Seeds at Arborg, Man. While Johnson has seen some instances of No. 1 flax, he said most of what he’s seen has graded Nos. 2 and 3. “The premiums are […] Read more
Grain World: Beijing analyst brings different perspective
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Ivy Li brought a much different perspective about China to the Grain World conference in Saskatoon. Specializing in Chinese agricultural markets, the Beijing-based independent analyst veered away from the usual statements that often cast China as the bad guy on the world stage. Also, Li pointed out, Canada has been doing […] Read more
StatsCan confirms record-large canola ending stocks
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian canola ending stocks hit a new record for the 2018-19 crop year, according to updated data Statistics Canada released Friday. Canadian canola stocks as of July 31 came in at 3.9 million tonnes, up by 55 per cent on the year and about 800,000 tonnes above the previous record set in July […] Read more
Nine pests to watch for if you’re growing flax
Dr. James Tansey, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s insect specialist, reminded farmers at a Saskatchewan Agriculture conference in Weyburn, Sask., that “plants are not a passive part of the environment.” Flax produces poison in the form of cyanogenic glycoside (cyanide) that is toxic to several insects. However, your flax crop may still need some help protecting itself from[...]
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Flax prices muted
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Flax yields are expected to be average at harvest season, thanks to the combination of more seeded acres and inclement growing conditions. Export numbers have been lower in recent years, due in part to China having opted to import flax from other countries besides Canada. According to an early 2019 report from FarmLead,[...]
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StatsCan canola stocks numbers point to big carryout
Reading Time: 2 minutes As two analysts looked at Statistics Canada’s latest report on total stocks of principal field crops, they immediately zeroed in on canola. Statistics Canada’s report, released Tuesday, shows canola stocks as of Dec. 31, 2018 were at 14.553 million tonnes, up 4.9 per cent from year-earlier levels, “The numbers are sort of in line with[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
