Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Preliminary crop yield estimates released by Statistics Canada on Monday outlined just how severely the drought in Western Canada cut into production. Mike Fleischhauer, general manager for Eagle Commodities at Lethbridge, Alta., was not at all surprised by the numbers. “I think we knew that was happening all along,” he said. “There are […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Crop estimates show severity of drought
'Corn bandwagon' filling up

Nutrien confident in potash demand even with BHP project
Reading Time: 2 minutes Calgary | Reuters — Canada’s largest potash producer Nutrien said Tuesday it is confident in growing global demand for the crop fertilizer, shrugging off BHP Group’s decision to press on with its massive Jansen project in Saskatchewan that will add millions of tonnes a year of potash supply. BHP announced Tuesday it is going ahead […] Read more

BHP approves Saskatchewan potash project’s completion
Major miner expects to produce about 4.4 million tonnes of fertilizer per year
Reading Time: 3 minutes After over a decade of development and digging, one of the world’s biggest mining and metals companies has granted its Saskatchewan potash mining project the go-ahead to completion and full production. Australian-British mining firm BHP announced Tuesday its board has approved its potash mine about 60 km southeast of Humboldt, near Jansen, Sask., for another […] Read more

Flax prices expected to push higher
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Although flax prices have held pretty much steady over the last few weeks, prices will soon increase, according to Dale Johnston of Johnston Seeds at Welwyn, Sask. Johnston said prices for old-crop brown and yellow flax were presently about $24 per bushel. New-crop flax was at $18/bu. “By the time we get done […] Read more

Rail upgrades planned for P+H elevator
Eastern Saskatchewan elevator's rail spot expanding
Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker plans to boost throughput at one of its eastern Saskatchewan elevators with upgrades to its rail car loading systems. Privately-held P+H said Thursday it plans to expand to a 100-car spot, up from 50, at its elevator at Quill Lake, Sask., about 60 km east of Humboldt. Work on […] Read more

Anthrax kills southeastern Saskatchewan sheep
Spores forced up by changes in soil moisture
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dramatic shifts in soil moisture are again bringing anthrax spores to the surface on the Prairies, this time in a southeastern Saskatchewan sheep pasture. Lab results on Wednesday confirmed anthrax as the cause of death of one animal in a flock of sheep in the R.M. of South Qu’Appelle, about 50 km east of Regina, […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan crops fight off record heat
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The “heat dome” which enveloped Western Canada last week delivered a blow to Saskatchewan’s pulse crops. Thirty-four temperature records were shattered on Friday, including those at Regina, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Weyburn and Yorkton. Saskatoon and Lucky Lake, northeast of Swift Current, were the province’s hot spots that day at 40 C. Nine […] Read more

Maple Leaf to buy four Saskatchewan hog barns
Pork processor plans future upgrades
Reading Time: < 1 minute Two sow barns and two nursery hog barns in central Saskatchewan are set to become the property of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday it plans to buy the four barns from Polar Pork, a group of farms spearheaded by members of the Possberg family — well known as the founding […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Prices dip in Alberta, steady to higher elsewhere
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat in Alberta pulled back a little this week — and it wasn’t because the province has generally received more rain than the other two Prairie provinces. “There hasn’t been the demand as we typically have at this time of year,” Erin Harakal, senior trader with Agfinity in […] Read more

Prolonged heat wave breaks Canadian temperature records
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — An extreme heat wave affecting all four western provinces, the shores of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories as well as Watson Lake, Yukon, is expected to persist for a week. The “heat dome,” a high-pressure system trapping warmer air, has affected British Columbia the most. The village of Lytton, about 160 […] Read more