On the lookout for blackleg and clubroot

Most Manitoba canola producers weren’t tallying up the list of production problems they faced last year, but Canola Council of Canada regional agronomist Kristen Phillips did. There were 23 to be exact, everything from excess moisture, late seeding, drought, frost, stressed plants, disease and insects. The cool, wet spring and a hot, dry summer led

Monitor open market, Goodale says

The new open wheat and barley market promised for western Canadian farmers starting Aug. 1 should be monitored by an independent institution so the findings can help guide future policies, says Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale. “Unless you start working on this right now from the beginning and follow it through from Day 1 you


Market steady, but uncertainty ahead

Commodity prices may have peaked in 2011, ProFarmer analyst Mike Jubinville told farmers attending the St. Jean Farm Days. “My gut feeling right now is that the heights have already come in,” Jubinville told producers. “It’s not that I’m feeling bearish about the marketplace going into 2012, personally I think that there is going to

After the bust, the Irish look back to the land

After the Celtic Tiger died, Anthony Slattery quit his job as an accountant and bought some cows. With food and drinks exports rising by close to a billion euros a year and food firms among the best performers on Ireland’s bruised stock market, agriculture is one of the few sectors to survive a devastating property


Fertilizer demand rises again

Paris / Reuters – World demand for fertilizers will rise again this season to hit a new record level, driven by growth in emerging economies and strong fundamentals in agricultural markets, the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) said Jan. 5. Fertilizer demand, expressed as consumption of key nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, should rise three per

From hand shelling to seed selling

Ten years ago Linda and Ron Catt came up with an unusual strategy for cutting the cost of feed for their cattle. They went into a corn-breeding partnership with Mother Nature. The husband and wife team knew if their small mixed farm north of Treherne was going to survive, they would need to keep feed


Low-key corn futures belie active options

Corn futures may appear to be lacking conviction lately as both nearby and deferred contracts shuffle mainly sideways in low-key trade ahead of the upcoming U.S. Department of Agriculture production and stocks report due on Jan. 12. But judging by the steady climb in open interest in both put and call options in recent weeks,

Lightweights expected to move as auctions resume

Strong prices and movement at the various auction marts across Manitoba are expected to continue in the new year as activity resumes after the Christmas holiday season. “Indications are that the few cattle that have been publicly traded out there are fully steady,” said Rick Wright, a cattle buyer for Heartland Order Buying Co., adding


China imports dairy cows

China is importing more dairy cows to try and beef up its transition to larger-scale farms, as the industry attempts to boost production and quality following a deadly scandal. China plans to nearly double milk production to 64 million tonnes by 2020, as part of a long-term plan by the Ministry of Agriculture to improve

India grain stocks sharply higher

New Delhi / Reuters India’s Jan. 1 wheat stocks at government warehouses were 25.7 million tonnes, more than three times the official target for the quarter ending Mar. 31 government sources said Jan. 9. Rice inventory for the same period was 29.8 million tonnes against a target of 11.8 million tonnes. The wheat target was