Reading Time: 2 minutes The ag retail arm of the Saskatchewan-based Blair’s Family of Companies is set to go into a joint venture with one of Canada’s biggest co-operatives. Blair’s and Federated Co-operatives (FCL) announced last week they’ve reached an agreement to set up a joint venture which, pending regulatory approvals, will own and operate the seven Blair’s ag […] Read more
Federated Co-op buying into ag retailer Blair’s
Central, southeastern Saskatchewan sites to go into new joint venture
Klassen: Lower U.S. calf crop spurs buying interest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded steady to $2 higher; calves in the range of 550-800 lbs. were up $2-$4; and calves under 550 lbs. surged $4-$8 on average. Certain auction barns reported that grassers traded $8-$12 above week-ago levels. Colder temperatures caused some sellers to delay sales; however, there was no […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle demand improving
Reading Time: 2 minutes The feeder market received a shot of adrenaline last week as corn futures came under pressure while live cattle futures surged. During the first half of the week, western Canadian yearlings were quite sluggish and calf prices steady to $3 lower compared to seven days earlier. Some yearling packages moving direct off-farm in certain areas […] Read more
Cattle set-aside programs winding down
Final enrolment deadlines set for Saskatchewan, Alberta programs
Reading Time: < 1 minute AgriRecovery programs set up in Saskatchewan and Alberta to help cover feed costs for cattle producers unable to ship livestock to slaughter are gearing down, while Ontario’s program begins a third intake. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. announced Friday that the province’s AgriRecovery set-aside program will end March 31, 2021, with Jan. 19 now set as […] Read more
Flax facing tightening supplies
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Solid export demand has pushed Canadian flax prices up sharply over the past month, with the market working to ration demand amid expectations for tightening supplies. The flax market in general is “just gone crazy. We’re up 50 per cent since the start of harvest,” Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada at Yorkton, […] Read more
Saskatchewan gets new ag critic, returning ag minister
David Marit, Trent Wotherspoon to handle farm file
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s New Democrats will have a new critic to debate the incumbent minister over the agriculture file. Provincial opposition leader Ryan Meili on Tuesday announced Trent Wotherspoon, the MLA for Regina Rosemont since 2007, as the NDP’s critic for agriculture as well as finance, SaskTel, Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC) and the province’s Crown Investments […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prices plateauing
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — While prices for feed grains have risen over the last month along with several other commodities, they’ve now declined a little bit, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader with Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta. “For short-term movement like November-December we’ve seen them come off the most compared to the late-January/early-March time frame,” she […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Roquette plant now contracting organic yellow peas
Pricing to be at 'sustainable' level for growers
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Roquette is now contracting for conventional and organic yellow peas for its new processing plant near Portage la Prairie, Man. After construction is finished at the end of 2020, the 200,000-square foot facility will work its way up to processing 125,000 tonnes of yellow peas per year. “We will be receiving peas in […] Read more
Saskatchewan agriculture minister cruises to election win
NDP's ag critic trailing, with mail-in votes still to come
Reading Time: 2 minutes Another incumbent agriculture minister easily held his seat as Saskatchewan’s governing Saskatchewan Party scored another decisive majority in Monday’s provincial election. David Marit, MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016, held his seat by a spread of 5,177 votes over the New Democrats’ challenger, teacher Roger Morgan, with 459 mail-in ballots remaining […] Read more
BHP covers added costs for potash project
Long-awaited decision by BHP board now expected mid-2021
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Challenges” in completing the shafts for its Saskatchewan potash project have led the world’s biggest mining company to top up the project budget by 10 per cent. BHP, in an operational review document released Tuesday for its quarter ending Sept. 30, said its board has approved another $272 million to complete the watertight concrete and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
