Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Sunflower growers in Canada took off a bumper crop in 2020, almost hitting the 100,000-tonne mark for the first time since 2010. The forecast for this year’s crop isn’t as sunny. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest outlook, released earlier this month, predicts the national sunflower seed crop in 2021 at 75,000 tonnes off […] Read more

Sunflower seed market falls back to Earth

Few alterations seen in new global supply/demand report
IGC expecting more corn grown this year
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — There were few notable changes in the latest monthly supply-and-demand report from the International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday. One of the more significant alterations was its 1.42 per cent increase to total global production from that in 2019-20, at nearly 2.216 billion tonnes. It also raises its estimate for this marketing year’s […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Barley demand pressures domestic supply
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Increasing demand for feed barley has created a strong but extremely tightened market for the crop and it may potentially buck seeding predictions for 2021-22. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in Winnipeg, said rising demand from China is also raising prices for feed barley, urging growers to […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Normal yields expected for dry beans in 2021-22
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The number of acres seeded for dry beans in Canada in 2020-21 was at its highest level in more than a decade. But this upcoming crop year, acreage and yields are expected to return to normal. Dennis Lange, pulse specialist for Manitoba Agriculture at Altona, said he hadn’t seen yields like last year’s […] Read more

Ford cuts output of F-150s due to semiconductor shortage
U.S. firm among manufacturers caught off guard
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it is cutting shifts at two U.S. plants that build its highly profitable flagship F-150 pickup trucks starting next week due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips, raising fears the problem could be worsening. The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it will run one of […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Canada’s lentils face competition
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Acreage and production of lentils in Canada are expected to mostly remain the same for the 2021-22 crop year. While strong demand during the COVID-19 pandemic has bolstered prices over the past year, increased production from competing exporters may cut into that buying interest going forward. Elyce Simpson Fraser, senior vice-president of Simpson […] Read more

Oat prices running out of upside
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Oat prices in Western Canada have shown some strength over the past year, but competition from other crops will likely lead to an acreage reduction this spring despite the firm prices, according to market participants. Ryan McKnight, from Linear Grain at Carman, Man., had seen prices for the crop rise last fall, but […] Read more

Canadian flax prices, exports going up
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — High demand and an accompanying increase in overseas exports have resulted in reduced domestic supply for Canadian flaxseed, helping drive prices for the crop to highs unseen in years. Marlene Boersch, owner of Mercantile Consulting Venture in Winnipeg, said the amount of flax from Canada going to the U.S. and European Union is […] Read more

Feds predict three per cent increase in canola acres
Stocks nevertheless expected to tighten
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers will seed more canola in the upcoming 2021-22 crop year, but solid demand will still cause ending stocks to tighten, according to the first new-crop supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Monday. The department forecast seeded canola area in the spring of 2021 at 21.37 million acres, up […] Read more

Alberta’s Lakeland to offer ag tech degree
College to launch first-in-Canada program in September
Reading Time: 2 minutes East-central Alberta’s Lakeland College is set to offer what’s billed as Canada’s first degree program in agriculture technology, as a two-year post-credential program, starting in September. The program, announced Wednesday, will consist of full-time studies at Lakeland’s campus at Vermilion, about 180 km east of Edmonton, plus “experiential learning practicums” off campus, en route to […] Read more