Spring planting is proceeding in parts of the U.S. Midwest, including this field at Montgomery Township in northeastern Ohio’s Ashland County on April 19.

Canola trade’s attentions turn to thoughts of spring

Planting is already underway in U.S. fields nowhere near you

The ICE Futures canola market saw mixed activity during the week ended April 20, with the nearby May contract hitting both its highest and lowest levels of the past month as traders worked to exit the contract ahead of its expiry. The more-active deferred months were also up and down during the week, but held

File photo of wheat seedlings. (Volodymyr Shtun/iStock/Getty Images)

StatCan expects more wheat, canola acres in 2023

Corn, soy, barley acres also expected up

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers intend to plant more wheat and canola in 2023, with soybeans, corn and barley area also forecast to expand, according to Statistics Canada’s projections for field crop area. The increases in those crops will come at the expense of oats, lentils and peas, with intended summerfallow area down to its smallest


Photo: Greg Berg

Analysts expect additional acres for canola, wheat

StatCan estimates due out Wednesday

MarketsFarm — If traders and analysts are correct with their estimates, there will be slightly more wheat and canola acres seeded in Canada this year compared to 2022. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will release its first survey-based acreage estimates for the 2023-24 marketing year on April 26. Other than drier and cooler conditions in southern Manitoba,

An adult lygus bug. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Matador, Voliam insecticides back in ‘limited’ release

Revised labels prohibit feeding, foraging of treated crops

Syngenta Canada no longer plans to keep its lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products off the market in Western Canada this year — but it’s planning to have a smaller supply. The crop chem and seed company announced Friday it will have a “limited amount” of its lambda-cy-based products Matador 120EC and Voliam Xpress available in the West


Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley demand, prices rise

Downside risk seen in June, July

MarketsFarm — After months of declining prices, one trader is now seeing a “pop” in the feed barley market. Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities at Saskatoon explained that logistics issues caused transportation delays for barley and resulted in feedlots ordering more than they needed last fall — but by the time spring came around, demand

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices continue to soften as April approaches

Seeding start in Alberta remains a question mark

MarketsFarm — Corn is still moving into feedlots in southern Alberta as it approaches not only the end of its contracts, but also the end of winter. “We’ve been seeing here in Lethbridge prices at $395-$400 per tonne ($10.03-$10.16 per bushel),” said Erin Harakal, trade manager at Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta. “It seems


Oats contain beta-glucans which add sweetness and a silky mouthfeel and haze to beer.

There are oats in that there beer

Manitoba Oat Growers hear how their crop is turned into craft booze

Beer isn’t just the domain of barley, Manitoba Oat Growers heard at their AGM on February 15. Christopher Marsh, a brewer with Lake of the Woods Brewing Company, talked to farmers about how he uses oats in the craft beer he brews. Lake of the Woods Brewing Company has breweries in Kenora, Winnipeg and Warroad,

Clubroot will likely be found in RMs in 2023 where it has yet to be detected, predicts David Kaminski, field crop pathologist.

Crop diseases to watch for in 2023

Some pathogens are expected to be on the rise this coming year

The apparent transition into a wetter period means different diseases to watch out for, says David Kaminski, field crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Kaminski was speaking at the CropConnect conference in Winnipeg on February 15. Two crops dominate Manitoba’s agricultural landscape. Wheat and canola account for 70 per cent of the annual crop acres in


Oats. (Greg Berg photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain bids quietly drift lower

Oats still making their way into feedlots

MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat in Western Canada drifted lower during the week ended Wednesday. Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta., said a relatively milder winter across the Prairies has resulted in less consumption of feed grains in feedlots. In turn, feedlots are not purchasing as much

Think of weed control like boxing. It’s better over time to know the combinations that lead to wins, rather than hoping for a lucky knockout punch.

Weed control can’t count on knockout punch

The chemical control era is waning, so adoption of new combinations is very important

Herbicides have been the No. 1 weapon against weeds since the 1940s. They’ve been effective but the last few decades have shown that genetics are a more powerful force than chemistry. Weeds are gaining genetic resistance to herbicides faster than new chemistries can be developed. “In addition to all of these new cases we’re seeing,