Corn performed well at the Resilient Rotations test site in Carman, Man., in 2020. The crop’s excellent performance was a key driver of net returns in the Red River Valley region in Manitoba.

Crop rotations and the bottom line

Prairie researchers examine how different crop rotations affect net economic returns

Reading Time: 7 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – When it comes to on-farm decision making, the bottom line for most farmers is often, well, the bottom line. A 2019 survey of Manitoba farmers bore that out. The survey, conducted on behalf of the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, asked farmers which factors were important to them when planning their crop […] Read more

File photo of a lentil crop before harvest in Saskatchewan. (Bobloblaw/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: AAFC trims production numbers

Lentil, chickpea prices up after report

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Among the many revisions Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada made to its August supply and demand report on Friday were reductions in pulse output for 2023-24. Most of Canada’s pulses are grown on the Prairies, and in particular southern Alberta and western Saskatchewan, which happen to be the driest parts of the region, leading […] Read more


Field peas. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Average yields expected for Manitoba crops

Beans, soy may still benefit if rain comes

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Pulse crops in Manitoba fared well against the elements which included sporadic rainfall and normal to below-normal temperatures for much of the past month. Provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange in Altona said field peas should begin harvesting operations next week. “As far as pea acres go, we’re looking at about 145,000 acres. That’s […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse weekly outlook: recent rains could stabilize crops 

Prices for pulses across Western Canada have been steady

Reading Time: 2 minutes Marketsfarm – Despite the rain the Canadian Prairies received since July 17, MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville pointed out that the major pulse crop areas got very little.  While any precipitation has been beneficial to this year’s crops struggling with dry conditions, Jubinville said, it won’t help that much.  “In terms of advancing pea and […] Read more


  Photo: Greg Berg

AAFC lowers Canadian wheat ending stocks estimates

Drop in estimated oats carryout another notable adjustment

Reading Time: < 1 minute  MarketsFarm – Canadian wheat ending stocks for both the current marketing year and 2023/24 (Aug/Jul) were revised lower by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s market analysis division in its updated supply/demand estimates, released July 21, with tighter oats and pulse stocks also expected.  Wheat ending stocks for 2022/23 were lowered to 3.540 million tonnes by AAFC, […] Read more

Kashika Sethi (l) and Rhea Thomas Thommana (r) were at Ag in Motion to represent food scientists Drs. Martin Reaney and Michael Nickerson and their 3D printer projects, including their work on printable protein-based materials, such as the pea-based “chicken leg” seen in the machine. (Becky Zimmer photo)

At Ag in Motion: 3D printer takes aim at food ingredients

Making foods both plant-based and printable the goal

Reading Time: 2 minutes With the development of 3D printing, the age of Star Trek replicators has arrived. For master’s student Rhea Thomas Thommana and PhD student Kashika Sethi, food replication is on the horizon as well. Thomas Thommana and Sethi were at Ag in Motion this week with a 3D printer designed to incorporate plant-based ingredients into food, […] Read more


A Shanghai container terminal. (Chuyu/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Exports solid through 10 months

West Coast ports move to clear strike backlog

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian pulse exports continued at a solid pace through most of the 2022-23 marketing year, although recent disruptions on the West Coast may cut into the final total. Roughly a quarter of all Canadian pea exports, a third of the lentils, and all the chickpeas typically move by container, with a strike by […] Read more

(ADM.com)

ADM buys Saskatchewan pulse miller

Prairie Pulse to double U.S. firm's reach in province's pulse sector

Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the four majors in global agrifood has bought expanded capacity in Saskatchewan’s pulse crop sourcing and processing space. ADM on Wednesday announced having bought Prairie Pulse Inc., whose main asset its its pulse crop processing and packaging plant at Vanscoy, about 25 km southwest of Saskatoon. Chicago-based ADM — known as the ‘A’ […] Read more


(iStock photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: More U.S. peas, chickpeas expected in 2023

On the other hand, fewer lentils and beans

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — It was a mixed bag for forecasted seeded pulse acres in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA released its acreage report on Friday, with data provided by respondents between May 30 and June 15. The report came two days after Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its June acreage […] Read more

(Iggi_Boo/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Exports strong through three quarters

Prices rationing demand for old-crop

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian pulse exports continue at a solid pace through nine months of the 2022-23 marketing year, with old-crop prices trending higher over the past month as the market rations demand ahead of the new-crop harvest. Canada has exported 1.713 million tonnes of lentils during the crop year to date, with Turkey the top […] Read more