(Dave Bedard photo)

Trade expects mostly smaller crops in StatsCan report

Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada –– Statistics Canada will release its first survey-based Canadian crop production estimates for 2015-16 on Friday, and figures for most major crops are expected to be down compared to last year. Yields are likely to be all over the map as weather conditions varied vastly from region to region during the growing season. […] Read more


(Allan Dawson photo)

U.S. grains: Midwest’s weather weighs down corn, soybeans

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures were slightly higher on Monday as early support from government data on unplanted acres was largely offset by pressure from a rainy U.S. Midwest forecast that should bolster the crop at a key stage of development. Corn closed weak, anchored by favourable crop weather, while wheat shed more […] Read more

(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Severe ‘food shocks’ seen more likely due to extreme weather

Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — Extreme weather such as intense storms, droughts and heatwaves will cause more frequent and severe food shortages as the global climate and food supply systems change, British and U.S. experts warned Friday. The pressure on the world’s food supplies is so great, and the increase in extreme weather events so rapid, […] Read more


Canola west of Pathlow in northeastern Saskatchewan on July 27, 2015. (Dave Bedard photo)

Cooler temperatures, precipitation in store for Prairies

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Alberta crops could be put at risk during the last week of September due to cooler weather, but for the most part, a U.S. meteorologist expects average to slightly above-average temperatures for the Prairies during harvest. Farmers will need to monitor temperatures during the last 10 days of September, as there will […] Read more

El Nino now seen more likely to last into spring

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday raised the likelihood that El Nino conditions would last into the Northern Hemisphere’s early spring to 85 per cent, boosting the probability that drought-stricken California could see increased rains. The Climate Prediction Center, a U.S. National Weather Service agency, last month forecast an […] Read more


Western Prairies see low yields as harvest ramps up

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– This summer’s erratic weather has taken its toll on plant development in Alberta and parts of western Saskatchewan, according to crop-watchers in those areas. “We have heard that dry conditions have caused plants (peas) to slough off or have the tillers dry off and have lost those heads,” said Barry Yaremcio at […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA sees bumper corn, soy crops despite floods

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters –– U.S. corn and soybean harvests were pegged above expectations this year as strong yields in areas west of the Mississippi River will make up for problems caused by excessive rains in eastern production states, the government said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast the 2015-16 soybean harvest at 3.916 billion […] Read more


Green peas. (PulseCanada.com)

Prairie pea yields appear lower in early harvest

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Western Canada’s pea harvest has begun and yields appear to be down, according to a crop management specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture. “Once farmers cut into the peas they began finding yields maybe half of what they typically expected,” said Shannon Friesen. Excess dryness in the early summer seems to have taken its […] Read more

Biomass pellets burn in a boiler furnace chamber. Nova Scotia’s COMFIT program offered 17.5 cents/kWh for electricity generated from local-level biomass plants. (Matt Myers photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

N.S. halts local-level biomass, wind power plan

Reading Time: 2 minutes Nova Scotia is ending its feed-in tariff program that pays local-level groups to generate power from biomass, wind and other renewable sources. Energy Minister Michel Samson said Thursday a provincial review of the community feed-in tariff (COMFIT) program shows it’s “at a point where the program could begin to have a negative impact on power […] Read more


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