Too soon to give up on winter wheat

The Prairie winter wheat crop may have been left looking a bit worse for wear due to unusually low snowfall cover, but there’s still life lurking below those browned-off stalks. That’s because it takes more than just a tap on the head to kill winter wheat, said Outlook, Sask.-area farmer Dale Hicks, who is also

New ICE wheat contract will struggle

The outlook for the new ICE Future Canada’s wheat futures market isn’t great, according to Neil Townsend, the Canadian Wheat Board’s North American market analyst. The long-running spring wheat futures market in Minneapolis didn’t get enough business before the Winnipeg market launched in January, he said. As a result, Minneapolis wasn’t “liquid” enough — a


Rising canola futures find point of resistance

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved higher during the week ended March 16. Concerns about the record pace of usage and the resulting depletion of old-crop canola stocks stimulated some of the upward price action. Chart-related speculative fund buying interest also contributed to the price advances. Much of that buying was

Farmers fear consolidation, not foreigners, in Viterra bid

Reuters / For most of the past year, western Canadian farmers have braced for the rush of competition that will follow the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s 69-year-long monopoly on grain marketing in August. Now, they’re preparing for the possibility of seeing less than expected. The fertile region’s biggest grain handler, Viterra, said March


Latest Ag Canada forecast ups 2012-13 grain and oilseed production

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has slightly increased its production estimates for the major grains and oilseeds for the upcoming crop year, which starts in August. The latest estimates from its market analysis division pegs total production at 70.320 million tonnes, up slightly from its February forecast of 70.120 million tonnes and 2011-12 production of 65.856

FNA gets into cash advance administration

Ontario’s ACC wants to expand in the West, but only into crops that aren’t covered now, says Jaye Atkins

Farmers taking out cash advances on their crops this year will see some changes in who is administering the programs. As the Canadian Canola Growers Association expands its administration to take over the crops formerly handled by the Canadian Wheat Board, a new player has emerged to manage the program for several commodities in Ontario


Tax credits rise on wheat, barley

Staff / Wheat and barley growers whose money stayed in the Western Grains Research Foundation’s checkoff fund during 2011 can expect a relatively larger tax credit for their buck. Prairie growers — other than Alberta barley growers, who pay into a different checkoff fund — will see their WGRF checkoff money eligible for federal Scientific

Spring fertilizer demand strong

Demand for fertilizer by western Canadian farmers looks solid ahead of spring planting. Supportive commodity prices are encouraging farmers to buy fertilizer in order to maximize yield potential in their crops this spring. However, challenges remain in some areas due to last spring’s wet conditions. Doug Chorney, president of the Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba,


Currency risk protection offered

Volatile currencies can hurt your bottom line more than changes in commodity prices. That’s why the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), in conjunction with Western Union Business Solutions, is introducing a new foreign exchange risk-management program. “If it makes sense to a producer, we can provide a solution,” said Mark Kelly, Western Union Business Solutions’ senior

Letters, March 22, 2012

Taxpayers on the hook (again) When I first saw the article in newspapers about $4.5 million for Maple Leaf upgrades, my first thought was, is it election time again, and so soon? I do not understand why Minister Vic Toews, chastises the city of Winnipeg and the media reporting as to what and whose sewage