Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period, it looks like our weather pattern will undergo a shift back to the mild pattern we experienced at the beginning of the winter. It also looks like the warm weather will stick around for at least a couple of weeks. The million-dollar question is whether we will see another outbreak of cold arctic air, or will we see an early start to spring? Well, if I knew that answer to that, I would be rich, but I don’t think winter is over quite yet.
Prairie forecast: Warm weather returns
Issued Jan. 24, 2024, covering Jan. 24 to 31
Prairie forecast: More typical mid-winter weather
Issued Jan. 17, covering Jan. 17 to 24
Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period it looks like it'll simply be winter--not bone chilling cold, but not springtime warm. The general pattern that appears to be developing across the prairies is showing warm air trying to push northeastwards out of the western U.S., but with a northwesterly flow across the prairies, it looks like there will be a parade of cold, arctic high-pressure systems dropping southeastwards every few of days. The question is, just how far north will the warm air push, or for far south will the arctic air push?
Western Canada’s dry winter heralds worsening drought for 2024
Oil and gas, hydro, forestry, sports affected alongside agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada's abnormally dry winter is worsening drought conditions across the western provinces, where most of the country's oil, gas, forest products and grain are produced.
SaskMustard looking to add onto 2023 success
Saskatchewan produced 130,246 tonnes of mustard seed, 76.3 per cent of Canada’s crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes In total, 130,246 tonnes of mustard seed were produced in Saskatchewan, 76.3 per cent of Canada’s crop, in 2023-24 according to Statistics Canada. The 463,700 acres of mustard seed grown in Saskatchewan last year was the largest amount since 2004-05.
Feed grain weekly outlook: More U.S. corn deliveries to feedlots
Frigid temperatures unlikely to disrupt grain deliveries, analyst says
Reading Time: 2 minutes The New Year still hasn’t whetted the appetite for corn from the United States to Alberta feedlots.
Sask. canola, flax groups vote to merge
SaskCanola and SaskFlax have been sharing offices, admin for about a year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Producer support for the merge of SaskCanola and SaskFlax was "overwhelming," the groups said in a Jan. 10 news release. The organizations held a joint annual general meeting to share results of member feedback before taking the issue to a vote. The vote passed with "widespread approval," the release said.
Prairie forecast: Frigid temperatures moving in
Issued Jan. 10, 2024, covering Jan 10 to 17
Reading Time: 3 minutes Coldest temperatures look to be over the western prairies but there looks to be some relief from the really cold temperatures early next week. With cold arctic high pressure dominating, little in the way of snow is expected during this forecast period.
Court remedy sought for unfulfilled contracts
Sask. company claims equipment breakdown at a third-party mill caused it to declare force majeure on contracted oats
Reading Time: 2 minutes More than two dozen farmers are moving ahead with legal action against Purely Canada Foods after it failed to honour contracts for gluten-free oats. The dispute centres on 2022 gluten-free oat contracts. On March 1, 2023, the company sent a letter to the farmers saying it was voiding the contracts because oat processing machinery had failed the previous fall and it couldn’t accept the crop.
Prairie spring wheat bids start year on a soft note
The Canadian dollar again weakened relative to the greenback
Reading Time: 2 minutes Spring wheat bids in Western Canada moved lower during the first week of 2024, as losses in the United States futures more than countered the supportive influence of a weaker Canadian dollar.
Feed weekly outlook: Several factors weighing on prices
Warm weather means less feed needed, easier movement says analyst
Reading Time: < 1 minute Feed grain prices across the Canadian Prairies are expected to continue falling back for the next few months due to a number of reasons, according to Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities in Saskatoon, Sask.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
