Agriculture Weather & Forecast

Grain that’s gone mouldy in storage. (Photo courtesy AAFC Cereal Research Centre/U of M)

Get grain piles safely binned before May, expert warns

By Country Guide Staff April 7, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the Prairies’ top experts in stored grain’s circle of life is warning farmers to get piled or bagged crops up off the ground before next month. Last fall’s bumper harvest and this winter’s grain rail freight backlog have together left Prairie farmers without sufficient bin space storing crops in Silobags or Quonsets or […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters, Weather

U.S. grains: Wheat drops on forecasts for Plains rain; corn firm

By Mark Weinraub April 6, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Friday, clinching their biggest weekly loss since January, on forecasts for some much needed rain in the U.S. Plains, traders said. Corn prices firmed on expectations that cold weather and low soil temperatures across key growing areas of the U.S. Midwest will delay planting in coming […] Read more

Canola, Crops, Machinery, Soybeans, Weather

Ontario’s ‘greener’ diesel mandate takes effect

By Country Guide Staff April 3, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s plan to ease its way toward mandatory minimum biodiesel content of four per cent in regular diesel is underway, starting with a two per cent mandate as of April 1. As announced Thursday, and running until the end of 2015, all fuel suppliers will be required to ensure the diesel they place in the […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Prairie spring flooding concerns muted, for now

By Dave Sims April 3, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Spring flooding doesn’t appear to be a major concern for any of the three Prairie provinces at this point, with a few exceptions, said provincial officials. Manitoba dodged a bullet March 31 when a major storm dumped heavy precipitation on parts of North Dakota and Minnesota. If the system had travelled a […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

Sask. truck weight updates seen as farmers’ gain

By Country Guide Staff April 2, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s move to streamline allowable truck weights for certain roads, effective April 1, is expected to benefit the province’s ag and resource sectors. For one, “the increase in weight for tridem drive B-train combinations on secondary-weight highways will help get product coming out of rural areas to market more efficiently,” Dave Marit, president of the […] Read more

Crops, Reuters, Weather

Threat from global warming heightened in latest UN report

April 2, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Yokohama | Reuters — Global warming poses a growing threat to the health, economic prospects, and food and water sources of billions of people, top scientists said in a report that urges swift action to counter the effects of carbon emissions. The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says […] Read more

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz speak to reporters March 27 in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Weather

More grain cars roll as eastern passage nears opening

By Country Guide Staff April 1, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian National Railway (CN) reports it’s nearing the federal government’s mandated goal of moving 5,500 grain cars per week, just as the Great Lakes grain shipping corridor is set to open for the season. CN on Monday reported having spotted 5,102 hopper cars for loading at country grain elevators in Western Canada during crop Week […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

Alta. to lift some spring load limits for grain

By Country Guide Staff March 28, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta government plans to allow grain trucks to run at 100 per cent of their axle weights on certain provincial highways otherwise restricted during the spring thaw period. The provincial government on Friday announced it will issue permits “at no cost” for grain trucks to travel at fully-loaded weights on roads otherwise subject to […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters, Weather

U.S. grains: Wheat falls on forecast for rains, but gains for week

By Michael Hirtzer March 28, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell two per cent on Friday, pressured by forecasts for rains next week in parched southern Plains growing regions and as investors squared positions ahead of key U.S. planting and stocks data due on Monday. Corn and soybeans were nearly unchanged in subdued trading in the run-up to […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Weather

Guenther: Gears grinding on grain freight co-ordination

By Lisa Guenther March 27, 2014

Reading Time: 4 minutes Saskatoon | Grainews — The Prairie grain industry and railways are likely to behave like the House of Commons as they try to fix logistics problems plaguing the industry, Perry Pellerin told delegates here at the Grain Handling and Transportation Summit. “There’s going to be a lot of finger-pointing. A lot of badgering. Maybe even […] Read more

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