Crops & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Part of Travis Heide’s motivation for converting a large farm to organics is the fact that many people don’t believe it can be done.

Too big to be true?

Can really large organic farms stay true to the spirit of the sector?

By Gord Gilmour February 26, 2019

Travis Heide knows many look at One Organic Farms in Waldron, Saskatchewan and wonder if it’s really an organic farm. The question isn’t whether it technically qualifies — the farm meets all the required standards and ticks all the right boxes. It’s whether it hews to the spirit of organic farming, long known as a

CBOT May 2019 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages.

Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Wheat sinks on plentiful global supply

By GFM Network News, Stephanie Kelly February 26, 2019

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures slid for a second consecutive session on Tuesday to the lowest in 10 months as cheaper exports from producers including Russia weighed on demand for U.S. supplies. Soybeans also fell, giving up the last session’s gains, as a rapidly advancing harvest in top exporter Brazil boosted global supplies.

Crops, Other

Biostimulants: What’s in the box?

When it comes to biostimulants there are plenty of questions but few clear answers

By Angela Lovell February 25, 2019

Biostimulants are one of the fastest-growing parts of the agriculture input market. A lot of products are on the market worldwide and many are being aggressively marketed. They’re being touted for their soil health benefits and other traits, but often little evidence is offered. Carl Rosen, a professor and extension soil scientist with the University

Crops, News

Managing microbes

Taking a page from pulse production, beneficial soil microbes are under the microscope

By Angela Lovell February 25, 2019

One of the biostimulant areas receiving the most attention is soil microbes, something that already has a long history in agriculture. The most obvious example is soybean and other pulse crops that are inoculated with rhizobia to ensure they efficiently fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. It’s an area that’s growing fast thanks to advances in

Cracked soybeans enter a SunOpta soymilk processing plant at Modesto, California. (Video screengrab from SunOpta.com via YouTube)

Crops

SunOpta sheds U.S. Midwest organic corn, soy business

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff February 25, 2019

Organic food firm SunOpta Inc. has stepped out of the U.S. organic corn and soybean business in a $66.5 million deal with Minnesota-based organic startup Pipeline Foods. Mississauga-based SunOpta announced Monday it closed a deal with Pipeline last Friday for the Canadian firm’s organic and “specialty” soy and corn operations, which include five plants in

CBOT May 2019 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on trade hopes

By GFM Network News, Karl Plume February 25, 2019

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to a 2-1/2-week high on Monday on hopes for a trade agreement between Washington and Beijing and after China vowed late last week to make additional U.S. soybean purchases. Wheat futures plunged around four per cent to fresh contract lows on technical selling and concerns about stiff

A freighter is loaded with grain from a terminal at Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. (Maxvis/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Markets

Canola exports still sluggish, but grains solid

By GFM Network News, Phil Franz-Warkentin February 22, 2019

Canadian canola exports continue to lag behind the year-ago pace, with large supplies in the commercial pipeline, according to the latest weekly data from the Canadian Grain Commission. Canada only exported 69,900 tonnes of canola during the week ended Sunday, well below the 205,500 tonnes that moved the previous week. Total canola exports during the

CBOT March 2019 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Crop prices seesaw as traders eye China talks

By GFM Network News, Tom Polansek February 22, 2019

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soy futures seesawed on Friday as traders waited for signs that Washington and Beijing were making progress toward a trade agreement that could boost Chinese imports of U.S. crops. After the close of trading, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Twitter that China, in a meeting at

Crops

Richardson buys Peace-region input retailer

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff February 21, 2019

Grain handler Richardson Pioneer has moved to shore up its presence in northern Alberta’s crop input market with a deal for a Peace-region dealership. Winnipeg-based Richardson announced Wednesday it has bought Agland Seed and Chemical at La Crete, Alta., about 320 km north of Peace River. The deal, which closed Tuesday, will see all of

Crops, Markets

Baltic Dry Index near 2-1/2-year lows

By GFM Network News, Phil Franz-Warkentin February 21, 2019

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has dropped sharply over the past two months, as declining global demand for commodities — especially from China — weighed on the economic indicator. The BDI, compiled daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, provides an assessment of the price of moving major raw materials by sea, including grain. The BDI

Daily Network News

New strategies needed for Canadian agriculture to stand out in global trade

Feed Grains Weekly: Cash prices for wheat, barley largely flat

The Canadian GMO mustard wars: Dijon vs canola

Crops

Too big to be true?

U.S. grains: Wheat sinks on plentiful global supply

Biostimulants: What’s in the box?

Managing microbes

SunOpta sheds U.S. Midwest organic corn, soy business

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on trade hopes

Canola exports still sluggish, but grains solid

U.S. grains: Crop prices seesaw as traders eye China talks

Richardson buys Peace-region input retailer

Baltic Dry Index near 2-1/2-year lows

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AgCanadaTV Special Feature: Crop pest insects to watch out for in 2026

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