Forecaster Drew Lerner speaks at Ag Days 2020 in Brandon. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

Favourable growing conditions forecast for major ag regions

MarketsFarm — Canadian producers looking for challenging growing conditions elsewhere in the world to prop up commodity prices may be disappointed during the 2020 growing season. South America “If you’re looking for any help from South America for your canola or soybeans or corn, you’d better look somewhere else,” Drew Lerner, president of World Weather


CBOT March 2020 corn with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures hit three-month high on export demand

Profit-taking sparks pullback in CBOT wheat

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures topped a three-month high on Thursday on improved export demand, while wheat futures traded near a 1-1/2 year high reached a session earlier. Soybeans eased to a one-month low as traders awaited signs of Chinese purchases of U.S. crops in the wake of last week’s initial trade agreement

Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River on Zimbabwe’s northwestern border with Zambia. (CIA.gov)

Zimbabwe says grain stocks running out after drought

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe has only 100,000 tonnes of grain in its strategic reserves, enough to last just over a month, as the southern African nation suffers the effects of a severe drought, according to the agriculture minister. More than half the country’s population faces food shortages after maize harvests halved last year. The


The Red River, shown here at Winnipeg, forms most of the border between North Dakota and Minnesota as it flows northward into southern Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Trump administration scales back U.S. water protections

Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration finalized a rule on Thursday to pare back the types of waterways protected from pollution under federal law, easing burdens on industries such as agriculture and mining but angering environmental groups. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule could win political points ahead of the November election for Republican President

blaine pedersen

Crop insurance: What’s new in 2020?

The organic sector, farmers with extended grazing and high-value crop growers can all expect more insurance options this year

Crop insurance coverage is poised for another increase in 2020, according to Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC). AgriInsurance coverage will hit $3 billion this year, with similar premiums to 2019. Why it matters: Better production knowledge has yields, and coverage, trending up, while the organic sector and producers with extended grazing will get more safety


Forecaster Drew Lerner, shown here at Ag Days 2020 in Brandon, sees a cooler-than-normal spring ahead for the Prairies. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead

If nothing else, a rainy harvest season helped replenish topsoil moisture

MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If we take a look at

CBOT March 2020 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Robust global demand supports Chicago wheat

Chicago | Reuters — Profit-taking pulled down Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures on Wednesday after robust global demand and concerns about tightening supplies pushed the most-active contract to its highest price since August 2018. Soybean futures also ended lower, while nearby corn futures inched higher. Traders in the farm markets continued to wait for


A new strategy to control grasshoppers can protect your crop, safeguard biological controls and cut your costs.

Cutting pesticide costs with RAATs

The technique is widely used to control grasshoppers in the U.S. but hasn’t found popularity in Manitoba

Reduced area and agent treatments (RAATs) may be a way to control grasshoppers and keep costs down in the coming year, entomologist John Gavloski told producers at St. Jean Farm Days on January 8. Gavloski, an extension entomologist with the province, showed grasshopper count maps from the last few years, which show a steady increase

Brian Pallister Ag Days

KAP pegs carbon tax cost for grain drying at $1.7M

Both Keystone Agricultural Producers and the province are hoping the federal government will give ground on a carbon tax exemption for grain drying

Keystone Agricultural Producers says carbon tax cost corn producers $1.7 million in grain drying last fall. It’s money the provincial government says they shouldn’t have to pay. Both the province and Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) are pushing for a carbon tax exemption for grain drying, following 2019’s wet harvest. During his comments at Ag Days