Prairie drought reaches tipping point

MarketsFarm -- The Prairie provinces have been under the influence of a large ridge of high pressure for a number of weeks, which has produced prolonged dryness with little precipitation. That high pressure system has pushed low-pressure, precipitation-carrying systems to the south, where the U.S. Midwest has already received significant rain. Environment Canada estimated the[...]

Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids rise on weather woes, tight old-crop supplies

MarketsFarm -- Tight old-crop supplies and mounting weather concerns over new-crop production are keeping feed grain prices well supported in Western Canada as end-users work to ration supplies. "We've seen a very real weather market emerge in the last few weeks," said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta., pointing to wet conditions hampering[...]


Feed weekly outlook: Western Canadian market stabilizing

MarketsFarm -- Western Canadian feed grain prices have come under pressure over the last month, but appear to be stabilizing as attention turns to spring seeding across the Prairies. "We've been steadily dropping for the past few weeks, and it's leveled out now," said Tracey Green, grain broker with Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. Buyers[...]

Alberta farmers try to wrap up 'very unusual year'

CNS Canada -- As winter approaches, producers in Alberta are still in the fields trying to wrap up the last bit of the 2018 harvest. According to the final crop report issued by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, about six per cent of all crops were still in the field at the end of October. The[...]


Mustard prices weather the weather, remain flat

CNS Canada -- Although mustard prices are flat, the ill-tempered weather experienced on the Prairies this fall had little effect on the crop's quality. Jamie Stelmachowich of Besco Grain Ltd. at Homewood, Man. said despite the cold, wet weather, most mustard has been graded higher at No. 1 or 2. "The seed was turned already.[...]

Construction resumes at Portage pea plant

CNS Canada – More than a year after the ground breaking ceremony was held for Roquette’s pea-processing plant at Portage la Prairie, Man., construction resumed on it at the end of October. According to a company spokesperson construction was halted last spring “to adjust and fine tune the project.” ”We took the opportunity to include[...]


Feed weekly outlook: Downgrades likely for Alberta crops

CNS Canada -- Snow and wet weather through a large swath of northern and central Alberta are causing havoc for farmers and will likely put more feed grains into the market. But normal harvest price discounts are still not as great as expected, said Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. Feed grain prices[...]

Prairie hay crops look thin in many areas

CNS Canada -- Many farmers taking off their first hay cuts are also gathering more talking points to grumble over at coffee row. While many producers are still working to get the first cut done and the situation could change with the second cut, many regions are already reporting below-average yields. “In areas of the[...]


Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil crop prospects look good, market down

CNS Canada -- The western Canadian lentil crop is looking good, which has buyers in no rush to lock in contracts. “The crop is germinating well and so (buyers are) not really anxious or worried about having product available in this coming crop year,” said Marlene Boersch, of Mercantile Consulting Venture. Thursday's crop report from[...]

Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan acreage ideas hold firm

CNS Canada -- Disruptions in marketing to India may have cut into prices for peas and lentils over the past year, but farmers in Saskatchewan did not shift their pulse acreage intentions for 2018 all that much according to the results of Statistics Canada's latest survey, released Friday. Saskatchewan farmers intend to seed 2.171 million[...]