Annual ryegrass harvest underway east of Altamont, Man., Aug. 26.

Harvest in Manitoba starts slow, but with bright spots

About 13 per cent of harvest was complete in the province as of Aug. 25

Harvest was slow to take off across the province but farmers are reporting good progress getting it into the bin. “Harvest has been off to a good start,” according to Dwight McGill, who farms near Pleasant Valley, Man. “It’s been, ‘Hurry up and wait,’ as it was in the spring with how fields dried up

High winds, frost make for difficult harvest conditions

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for September 8

Southwest Region Cold temperatures and rain in some areas stopped harvest last week. Very strong winds on Saturday and severe frost Monday night have been extremely hard on some crops, and posing a serious challenge to farmers’ mental health. Wind caused damage to standing and swathed crops. Multiple reports of shattered canola and blown swaths


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Yearling markets mixed

Compared to last week, yearling prices for western Canadian were down $2-$5 on average with the exception of southern Alberta where prices were relatively unchanged. Major feedlots in the Lethbridge area focused on local cattle which contributed to the firmer tone. Outside of Feedlot Alley, weakness in the deferred live cattle futures had buyers on

(Serts/iStock/Getty Images)

StatsCan stocks report shows lower lentils, durum, canola

Lentil supply picture 'extremely tight'

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s stocks of principal field crops report detailed tight ending stocks for lentils durum and canola. As of July 31, lentil stocks totalled just 61,000 tonnes, down by 91.5 per cent from last year. Exports were up by over 30 per cent year-over-year, which accounted for some of the decrease. “It’s an


(File photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices gain strength

MarketsFarm — Harvest activity in the western Canadian Prairies had depressed feed grain prices at the end of August, but prices have recovered slightly. “There’s been a bit of a break in harvest activity,” Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge said. Producers in southern Alberta had been harvesting barley at the end of

Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

China ban turns Australian barley growers toward domestic market

Growers may shift to alternative crops next season

Sydney | Reuters — Australian farmers will be forced to sell their barley supplies to the domestic livestock industry or cheaper international markets after China effectively banned imports from Australia, farmers said on Wednesday. China late on Tuesday said it would ban barley imports from Australia’s largest grain exporter, just weeks after it slapped a


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Yearling market remains red hot

Barley harvest well underway in southern Alberta

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $2-$4 higher on average; however, in southern Alberta, yearlings traded $6-$8 above week-ago levels. A few auction barns in Alberta held their first feature sales of the fall run and buyers showed up with both hands. The quality of yearlings coming off grass is excellent and

(Dave Bedard photo)

Wheat crop to be second-largest on record, StatsCan predicts

Canola estimate at lower end of trade predictions

MarketsFarm — Canada’s farmers will have grown their second-largest wheat crop on record in 2020, according to the first production estimates of the year from Statistics Canada, as released Monday. The government agency pegged total wheat production in the country for 2020-21 at 35.74 million tonnes, up 10.5 per cent on the year and second


A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain prices soften into fall

MarketsFarm — Old-crop feed grain prices are converging with new-crop and coming under some seasonal pressure. “As we get closer to new crop, we’ve been seeing the switch to new-crop prices from old-crop,” said Erin Harakal, a senior trader with Agfinity in Lethbridge. Feed barley prices are around $195-$200 per tonne delivered in the Lethbridge

(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola crop expectations vary ahead of StatsCan report

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada is due to publish its first production estimates for Canada’s 2020 growing season on Monday (Aug. 31). Late-season hot temperatures and a lack of rain may cause Canada’s canola production to be lower than originally expected, according to some market participants. Earlier in the growing season, Winnipeg-based FarmLink Agriculture Solutions published