Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — An unwelcomed early winter storm sent ICE Futures canola contracts higher during the week ended Wednesday, but it will take outside support to sustain a rally, according to industry participants. Snow in Alberta and Saskatchewan and cool and wet conditions in Manitoba slowed harvest operations during the week, with about 60 per cent […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Upside limited for canola’s snow boost
University’s ‘Beefier Barley’ billboard binned
Reading Time: 3 minutes A billboard about Alberta barley’s prospects under climate change in the University of Alberta’s ‘Truth Matters’ promotion — a series of ads meant to spark discussion about its researchers’ work — has been winnowed out of the campaign. Jacqui Tam, the Edmonton-based U of A’s vice-president for university relations, announced Sunday it would withdraw the […] Read more
Late Canadian mustard crop facing quality downgrades
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — An early blast of snow and cold across the Prairies has delayed harvest operations for a mustard crop already running behind normal, with quality downgrades expected for any mustard still in the field. “It has to be absolutely flattened,” said mustard buyer Walter Dyck of Olds Products at Lethbridge on the effect of […] Read more
Alberta snow further delays canola harvest, boosts prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canola futures finished up at Monday’s close, boosted by a weather premium after a low-pressure system brought considerable snowfall to parts of Alberta over the weekend. Snow was mostly concentrated in the southern region of the province. Calgary and surrounding areas received around 30 centimetres of snow, according to preliminary results from Environment […] Read more
Chemical firm sees strong demand for methane-reducing feed additive
Reading Time: 2 minutes Amsterdam | Reuters — Dutch specialty chemicals company DSM is expecting strong demand for a feed additive which limits the amount of methane burped into the air by cows, its contribution to the global fight against climate change. Methane has a much larger effect on global warming than carbon dioxide (CO2) and reducing methane emissions […] Read more
Storms leave close to 1,000 hail claims on Prairies
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — There were almost 1,000 claims for hail damage across the Prairies following a series of storms Sept. 15-20, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA). The CCHA said the most destructive of the storms during that week came on Sept. 17. “There is significant damage from this late–season storm. There was heavy […] Read more
Snow to stall harvests for western Prairies, Montana
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — A weekend storm is poised to bring more than a foot (30.5 cm) of snow to parts of Montana and the Canadian Prairies, putting portions of the region’s spring wheat and canola crops at risk, a meteorologist said. Excessively wet conditions in the region this month have already slowed fieldwork and […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Rains delay large Manitoba bean harvest
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Manitoba farmers seeded their largest dry edible bean crop in more than a decade this spring, but adverse conditions are causing delays getting it off the fields. “Last week we had some substantial moisture in the Red River Valley,” pulse specialist Dennis Lange of Manitoba Agriculture said, noting the system brought up to […] Read more
Wet harvests hurt U.S., Canadian spring wheat quality
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Excessively wet conditions in the northern U.S. Plains and Canadian Prairies have hurt the quality of the region’s spring and durum wheat crops, potentially tightening supplies of top grades of the grains, handlers and agronomists said. Rains and heavy dew have slowed the harvest and, worse, caused mature, un-harvested wheat kernels […] Read more
Manitoba sunflowers not calling it quits just yet
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Manitoba farmers may have seeded the smallest sunflower acres in eight years this spring, but the crop is in reasonably good shape heading into the harvest later in the fall. “I do expect to see better crops this year than last year,” said Cody Burton, purchasing manager with Nestibo Agra at Deloraine, Man. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
