ICE November 2019 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Choppy canola trade likely

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market tested major chart support during the week ended Wednesday, but could be due for some choppy activity and eventual strength over the next few weeks, depending on what happens with the weather and in U.S. corn and soybean markets. The canola crop looks good across much of Alberta […] Read more

(CNS Canada file photo by Jade Markus)

Churchill shipping resumes but grain still on back burner

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The first cargo ship in two years left the northern Manitoba port of Churchill on Wednesday, moving supplies to communities in Nunavut. Rehabilitation efforts at North America’s only deep-water Arctic port are still underway, but there are expectations business through the facility will eventually include grain as well. OmniTrax, the previous owner of […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba to open up Crown lands for grazing, haying

Reading Time: 2 minutes Some Manitoba Crown lands not generally used for grazing or haying will be made available for temporary lease to producers this summer and fall. Citing “dry conditions in parts of the province,” the Manitoba government announced Monday that livestock producers “will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land […] Read more


(Video screengrabs from Exceldor.ca and Grannys.ca via YouTube)

Poultry co-ops Exceldor, Granny’s to merge

Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec poultry co-operative Exceldor is expanding its westward reach through a merger deal with Manitoba-based Granny’s Poultry Co-operative. The two co-ops announced the combination Wednesday, noting it’s already been approved by Granny’s producer members in a “unanimous” vote taken in May, and by the federal Competition Bureau in a decision last month. “The main objective […] Read more

Rain gives farmers relief, for now, from three-year drought

Rain gives farmers relief, for now, from three-year drought

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — With drought turning Chad Ross’s pastures brown, the southeastern Saskatchewan rancher sent 140 head of cattle to slaughter earlier than usual this spring, as the Prairies’ three-year drought made them too expensive to feed. The ranch and feedlot near Estevan has lost money two straight years. Long-awaited rains that swept the […] Read more


Parrish and Heimbecker’s current elevator at Dutton Siding, west of Gilbert Plains, Man. (ParrishAndHeimbecker.com)

P+H plans new elevator east of Winnipeg

Reading Time: < 1 minute Grain company Parrish and Heimbecker is set to put up one of the easternmost primary grain elevators in Western Canada, not far from one of its existing sites. The privately held Winnipeg company announced Friday it will start construction this month on a 25,000-tonne capacity grain elevator on Canadian National Railway track at Dugald, Man., […] Read more

(4loops/iStock/Getty Images)

Manitoba ag minister upbeat about peas

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Earlier this month Manitoba’s minister of agriculture, Ralph Eichler, took to Twitter to sing the praises of dry peas. “Peas will become the next successful crop in Manitoba. Thank you for believing in the future,” Eichler tweeted. Part of the minister’s optimism stems from global corporate giant Roquette constructing the world’s largest pea […] Read more


Precipitation percentiles on the Prairies for the period of April 1 to May 23, 2019. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Drought Watch)

Prairie dryness concerns to persist

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Large areas of Western Canada remain on the dry side, with little moisture in the immediate forecasts. And while it’s still early in the growing season, the interplay of conflicting patterns from the south and north will determine whether the dry areas receive timely precipitation during the growing season. “We are looking at […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies over the equatorial Pacific for the week centred on April 3, 2019. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Prairies can expect unexpected from El Nino this summer

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The U.S. National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center on Thursday reported a 65 per cent chance of El Nino prevailing throughout 2019’s growing season. “A weak El Nino is likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer 2019 (65 per cent chance) and possibly fall (50-55 per cent chance),” the CPC’s report said. […] Read more