Why it matters: Large supplies will aide export and domestic usage numbers but also cut into prices.

The 7.23 million tonnes delivered were the second largest for the month on record. Total wheat deliveries were up 14.0 per cent from September 2024, at 4.08 million tonnes, barley was up 86.1 per cent at 828,043 tonnes and oats were 9.1 per cent higher on the year at 356,400 tonnes.

While the grains were higher, canola deliveries were down 3.4 per cent from September 2024 at 1.92 million tonnes.

The major grains include wheat (excluding durum), durum wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed and canola.

Producer deliveries capture grain that is destined for a primary elevator, feed mill, crushing plant or flour mill. This includes grain elevators that hold grain before it is exported, as well as shipments to markets in the United States that are not licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission.

StatCan warned that “the imposition of tariffs by the United States may have an impact on producer deliveries of major grains in the coming months,” adding that in 2024 Canada exported a total of 4.5 million tonnes of wheat (excluding durum), durum wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed and canola to the U.S.

“Statistics Canada will continue to monitor developments on tariffs and the impact on producer deliveries,” said the government agency.

The post Near record September major grain deliveries: Statistics Canada appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

StatCan published its major grain deliveries report for August 2025 on Sept. 25. In total, 3.588 million tonnes were delivered compared to 4.329 million in August 2024. The agency noted that tariffs placed on Canadian goods headed to the United States may have an impact on deliveries.

All wheat deliveries in August totaled 2.259 million tonnes compared to 2.321 million one year earlier. For durum, 279,584 tonnes were delivered last month, up from 244,560 tonnes in August 2024.

Canola deliveries fell below one million tonnes for the first time since August 2023, dropping to their lowest monthly total since May 2022. StatCan reported 621,555 tonnes of the oilseed were delivered in August, compared to 1.32 million tonnes in August of last year.

August barley deliveries were 379,238 tonnes, slightly more than the 375,071 tonnes delivered in August 2024. For oats, 278,097 tonnes were delivered, up from 267,271 tonnes one year earlier. Rye deliveries were up from 29,375 tonnes in August 2024 to 38,098 last month. Flaxseed deliveries were down from 15,127 tonnes in August 2024 to 11,953 tonnes a year later.

Saskatchewan provided 36.6 per cent of all deliveries, followed by Manitoba with 22.2 per cent and Alberta at 20.4 per cent.

The post August grain deliveries down from 2024: StatCan appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

In the past few years, Statistics Canada has moved from their traditional survey-based methodology, to increasingly rely on satellite imagery and computer models for their estimates. Production numbers released in August and September are now compiled without any direct input from farmers, with the final surveyed numbers not out until December. Given the relative newness of the process, and general wariness of change, a common refrain amongst market watchers has been to question the veracity of the satellite data.

However, for canola at least, the model-based production data looks to have been spot on for the 2024-25 crop.

In August 2024, StatCan forecast canola production that year at 19.5 million tonnes — which would have been up slightly from 2023. By September, the models cut 500,000 tonnes from the estimate placing the crop at just under 19 million tonnes. The farmer survey in December cut another million tonnes from the production number, leaving the trade working with only 17.8 million tonnes of official canola production to work with. That marked the second-smallest crop of the past decade, aside from the drought year in 2021.

Who to believe? The farmers on the ground (with a monetary incentive to underreport their crop size) or the satellites in the sky (several arms length removed from that same ground).

The truth, as always, is likely somewhere in the middle, but additional data that came out over the past year would seem to indicate that StatCan was correct the out of the gate on canola production in August 2024.

Usage

Both exports and the domestic crush were strong in 2024/25, with total canola exports by the end of July 2025 of 9.5 million tonnes up by 38 per cent on the year, according to Canadian Grain Commission data.

Back in December, when the canola crop was officially only 17.8 million tonnes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada was forecasting canola exports would top out at 7.5 million tonnes in 2024/25. However, as the months progressed and the actual movement eventually topped that level, they were forced to make some creative adjustments to the balance sheets — posting a negative feed, waste and dockage number at one point.

Farmer deliveries kept moving into the commercial pipeline, so the country wasn’t out of canola and StatCan eventually raised their 2024 canola production estimate to 19.2 million tonnes — just shy of its original August 2024 call.

Stocks

While such a large jump was a bit surprising, revisions to past data are not unusual and more adjustments for 2024 should be expected.

Weekly CGC data showed 1.1 million tonnes of canola in the commercial pipeline as of July 31 — the last day of the 2024/25 marketing year. That’s exactly where AAFC was forecasting total ending stocks for the marketing year just ahead of that report. The total stocks include on farm supplies, and to have the bins completely empty would be unprecedented.

On farm canola ending stocks range from from 424,000 to 4.4 million tonnes over the past decade. Even a conservative estimate of 700,000 tonnes of on farm supplies at the end of the 2024/25 marketing year would necessitate an increase in last year’s production to bring it in line with 19.5 million tonnes or larger. The official ending stocks data, including on farm supplies, will be released in early September.

New crop

Politics and trade will remain key drivers in canola pricing looking forward, but the underlying reality of how much crop there actually is to sell remains ‘fundamental’.

Seeded canola area was down by about half a million acres on the year, but crop conditions have been reasonably favourable in many areas. Anecdotal reports would suggest decent yields, but tighter supplies overall should be expected.

Keep an eye on the shifting numbers. The computers were right on production the first time in 2024/25. What will the data show this marketing year?

The post Should you believe boots on the ground or satellites in the sky on Canadian canola production? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Total wheat deliveries of more than 3.24 million tonnes improved 34.3 per cent, while durum jumped more than 141 per cent at almost 542,000 tonnes.

Oats were also significantly higher, rising 66.3 per cent at almost 301,150 tonnes.

Canola was the second largest delivery, with 1.92 million tonnes of the oilseed delivered to commercial positions in April, up 31.9 per cent from a year ago.

At just short of 355,600 tonnes, barley incurred the only decline, down 7.2 per cent from last April.

(Source: Producer deliveries of major grains, Statistics Canada)

Grain          Apr2024     Apr2025     Up/Down

All Grains    4,468,523   5,857,662    +31.09%

Total Wheat   2,414,614   3,243,354    +34.32%

Durum Only      224,814     541,977   +141.08%

Oats            181,099     301,149    +66.29%

Barley          383,188     355,580     -7.20%

Rye              17,254      13,744    -20.34%

Flax             20,020      29,332    +45.60%

Canola        1,870,670   1,462,404    -21.82%

The post Grain deliveries up on year in April: StatCan appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

We’d roll up the driveway and earthen ramp, into the building and over the pit. The man on duty that day — and back then it was always a man — would greet my father as we stepped off the scale.

He’d get a true reading of the full weight of the truck, minus its human cargo, and then it was time to engage the PTO, raise the truck box, and begin emptying the load.

As that wheat, barley or canola flowed into the pit, the operator would take scoops from the flow, making a composite sample of the load.

Then it was on into the elevator to grade it. I recall being fascinated by the skills on display as they weighed, sieved and counted, rolled out the canola and quickly came to a conclusion.

I don’t actually recall any disputes over that process, though I’m sure they did occur. It would be hard to imagine any years-long commercial relationship where everyone was satisfied every time.

But what was important, back then, was that the farmer selling that grain (or perhaps a family member or trusted hired hand) was almost always present.

But that was back in the day when thousands of delivery points dotted the Prairies, with competing outlets in every small town and village.

These days there are, of course, just a few hundred delivery points covering the same geographic area, and it’s increasingly rare for producers to themselves be behind the wheel of that truck. More often than not, it’s going to be a contract trucker with no skin in the game past wanting to load and unload efficiently and get on to the next job.

That’s why one of the current rules governing grading disputes has increasingly been preventing farmers from being able to protect their own best interests.

As Allan Dawson reports in our Dec. 23 issue, if a farmer currently wants to dispute a grade, they need to do it in person at the time of delivery.

The concern is that this requirement prevents disputes from being lodged and prevents farmers from seeking impartial and binding grading from the federal authority.

So the Canadian Grain Commission is proposing to change this, allowing farmers up to seven days after getting their delivery receipt to dispute the grade.

It would seem that it’s not going to be a huge logistical issue, since the elevator companies are already retaining delivery samples as part of the delivery declaration process.

If anything, it’s surprising that it took this long for any action to be taken on this regulation.

You and other stakeholders have until February 28 to make your views known during the consultation period.

There will be some nuances to work out, of course, but the commission’s proposed changes are a good start on a needed adjustment.

A wild ride

And so ends 2021 for the staff of the Manitoba Co-operator, and the citizens of Manitoba.

We’ll be taking our traditional holiday hiatus next week, and will return to your mailbox with the Jan. 6 edition.

It’s definitely been a year of highs and lows. It began with the announcement of the first COVID vaccines, and the hope that life would soon return to normal.

It then evolved into a year of crippling drought for much of the province, with a ‘drought within a drought’ during the summer months blasting the crops with heat.

The fall saw the return of some hope with rains, albeit too late for this year’s crop, that began the painstaking process of rebuilding the soil moisture.

And now, as the year wears on towards the end, we’re faced with the spectre of a new COVID variant, one that could evade the vaccines.

That picture isn’t hopeless, as early signs suggest ‘Omicron’ as it’s known, may be more virulent but result in less serious illnesses, and that the vaccinated seem to only get mild illnesses.

But it does underscore the unpredictable nature of life on this blue and green ball we call Earth, and the necessity that one be able to bend with the winds, rather than be blown over by the gale.

As we continue down this path we’re on, self-care is going to be more important than ever, especially during the busy and often stressful holiday season.

That can mean reaching out to friends and family, or speaking to a mental health professional through Manitoba’s farm and rural stress line, where you’ll always find a sympathetic and understanding ear.

After all, we’ve all made it this far together, and while it may not always seem like it, things are beginning to get better.

Merry Christmas from all of us, here at the Manitoba Co-operator and best wishes for the coming — and hopefully brighter — new year.

The post Editor’s Take: Getting with the times appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Canpulse, Global Grain Canada and their parent company Globeways Canada went into receivership last Nov. 19, following the Oct. 31 suspension of their Canadian Grain Commission licenses.

Farmers subsequently made claims through the CGC’s Safeguards for Grain Farmers program, which turned up 40 eligible claims involving Canpulse, worth over $3 million, and 13 such claims on Global Grain, worth over $700,000, the commission said Tuesday.

The eligible claims were all “fully covered” by the security already posted by Mississauga-based Globeways’ two subsidiaries, the CGC said. Court approval for the sale of the two companies’ inventory was issued Jan. 4.

Under the program, CGC-licensed grain companies must tender security with the CGC to cover outstanding grain liabilities, by means such as a bond, letter of credit, letter of guarantee or payables insurance.

If a licensed company misses its payment obligations, the commission then uses the company’s posted security to compensate eligible producers.

In cases where a CGC licensee “fails to meet its obligations,” producers may seek compensation within 90 days from the date of their grain delivery or within 30 days from the date a cash purchase ticket or cheque was issued to them, whichever time period is shorter.

Global Grain, based at Plum Coulee, Man., mainly processes beans and cranberries at its plant while Canpulse Foods’ plant at Kindersley, Sask. handled mainly lentils, peas and canary seed.

Court approval was granted Feb. 9 for the sale of the Canpulse plant at Kindersley to Purely Canada, a Regina plant-based protein processor and subsidiary of processor Above Food Corp., which makes the Above Meat brand of meat alternatives.

Purely Canada, part of Above Food since October last year, announced Feb. 12 it had closed its deal for the Kindersley plant, which has processing capacity for up to 100,000 tonnes of grains and ingredients.

Globeways’ receiver, BDO Canada, filed a report in Ontario’s Superior Court on Feb. 23 seeking approval for the sale of the Global Grain plant at Plum Coulee to a Manitoba arm of pulse and specialty crop trader ETG Commodities.

Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen approved the sale Tuesday to Mississauga-based ETG — which last year picked up four Saskatchewan processing facilities formerly owned by now-defunct pulse export firm ILTA Grain.

The sale of the Globeways head office site in Mississauga, meanwhile, was approved in December and closed later that month. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Pulse packers’ security covers cash owed to farmers appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Spot feed barley bids in the Lethbridge, Alta. area have held in the $270-$275 per tonne range through November, said Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities in the key feedlot alley city.

Meanwhile, prices for delivery in the late winter through the spring have strengthened into the $275-$290 area.

“The end user is trying to get some coverage for that time period,” Beusekom said. Solid export demand continues to cut into supplies, and domestic feeders are paying up to secure deliveries.

“The ones who want to use barley no matter what, are going out there and paying what they have to pay so they can make sure they have the supply,” he said.

While they may be paying up for deferred delivery, feeders are generally well covered for the time being.

Beusekom noted feed wheat was trading at a $5-$10 per tonne discount to barley for both spot delivery and into the spring. While he had yet to notice a major switch, “the option is there for feeders to cut back their barley usage and include some wheat in their ration.”

Corn is currently trading at around $285 per tonne into Lethbridge, with spring prices topping $300. Feedlots will switch to corn if barley prices get out of hand, “but at this point (corn) is still too much money,” Beusekom said.

Rising canola and pulse prices have given farmers many options for cash flow, limiting their willingness to sell feed grains to some extent.

While prices are firm for now, “the market will turn when people least expect it,” Beusekom said, noting much of the general strength in the market was linked to Chinese demand for commodities.

“They’re on and they’re off. Right now they’re on, but what happens when they’re off?”

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

The post Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids firm as feeders seek coverage through spring appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

With consumers still limiting their trips outdoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said it would invest more to expand the pickup and delivery operation while aiming to reduce costs.

The move is part of a larger trend among Canadian retailers. Earlier this week, Walmart Canada said it plans to spend $3.5 billion over the next five years to strengthen its e-commerce business.

A 280 per cent surge in e-commerce sales lifted Loblaw’s revenue about 7.4 per cent to $11.96 billion in the second quarter ended June 13. That beat analysts’ estimates of $11.87 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv .

Adjusted net earnings fell nearly 29 per cent to $266 million, or 74 cents per share, due to employee bonuses. Analysts had expected a profit of 71 cents per share.

The company’s food retail same-stores sales rose 10 per cent in the quarter.

— Reporting for Reuters by Uday Sampath in Bangalore.

The post Loblaw beats profit estimates as online sales surge appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“(The pandemic) has re-emphasized the need to get access to some of the technology that exists in other sectors and are not easily accessible in agri-food systems,” said Rozita Dara, an associate professor at the University of Guelph’s School of Computer Science.

Her comments came during a digital conference organized by the university’s Arrell Food Institute that asked various experts: What information will we need, and what will a post-lockdown life look like?

In the agri-food sector, Dara sees resulting growth in machine data, platforms to manage data, and automation.

“These technologies, what I expect to see post-COVID is a world with a lot more digital technology in agri-food systems for food production, distribution, safety, traceability,” she said.

A simple example she provided was in food processing plants: COVID-19 has driven the need for more “digital paperwork” to limit hand-to-hand contact, and expects measures such as this to continue to gain prominence.

She also predicts more e-commerce tools being made available to farmers, particularly as small-scale operations look for new ways of selling product locally.

Of these sorts of technologies, many already exist and are being piloted around the world.

“One of the culture changes that I will see in digital agriculture is employing these technologies in a real environment to test them at a large scale, and also engage the users who are using those tools and will be making decisions with these tools,” she said, adding later that the “opportunities are enormous.”

Changing behaviours

Dara was joined by Alfons Weersink, a professor in the university’s food, agriculture and resource economics (FARE) department.

He echoed colleagues who participated in a previous digital conference in saying the food system bent but did not break as a result of the pandemic.

“Initially, why did it bend? Because of the sudden change in the nature of demand, away from hospitality to the retail sector, and that meant that the whole system had to change,” he said. “In terms of what it might mean as we move forward, I think that this trend of digitization is going to be enhanced because of this.”

Farmers will look for new ways to save on labour, he added.

“They have for years, it’s not a new trend, but I think this is going to accelerate that trend, to robotic milkers, to automatic pickers of whatever crop or output it may be,” he said.

Calling the processing sector the “bottleneck” of the food system during the pandemic, Weersink suggested processors will also look to enhance technologies to reduce labour needs.

“If they have labour issues, in this case the health of the labour, then (the sector) shuts down and we have implications at the farm level in terms of lower prices and then potential shortages as we move forward.”

Weesink is also predicting some changes in consumer behaviour, saying food may skip the step of stopping at grocery stores and start moving directly from warehouses to household doorsteps. At the same time, people will demand more traceability and independence.

“I think there might be a trend to more local and more self-reliance, so that’s going to change the production system, there is going to be demand for that,” he said, adding there could be a rise in “ghost kitchens” — food establishments that don’t offer any dine-in services but are built to specialize in delivery or pick-up options.

Simon Somogyi, the Arrell Chair in the Business of Food, said the pandemic allowed the public to really see how the grocery system works, particularly the “just-in-time” supply chain, in which grocers use data about demand to ensure their supply stocks meet that demand.

“The just-in-time system was blamed by some commentators at the time, but I think that’s wrong. I think it’s far more efficient,” he said.

Amy Greer, an associate professor at the Ontario Veterinary College, said that while some businesses may have had a pandemic preparedness plan, as a whole, society may have underestimated the potential for emerging infectious diseases.

“What this has done to us is when we have an emerging infectious disease that is highly transmissible and no known vaccine, our only candidate for reducing transmission is changing our behaviour very quickly or very dramatically,” she said.

“Moving forward, how do we protect workers and people who are essential to the food we eat and require for our families and communities and be prepared to put that on the table to keep them safe as a way to protect the food chain?”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

The post Agri-food tech expected to be a post-pandemic growth industry appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Companies that turn potatoes into french fries, wedges and hash browns are slowing down, because there isn’t enough space to store all the frozen product.

In Alberta and Manitoba, processors have been short potatoes because of poor harvest conditions last year — with more than 20,000 acres “being abandoned in farmers’ fields,” according to the United Potato Growers of Canada.

That had led to french fry processors in Western Canada importing potatoes from the U.S., but that’s now ceased, said the general manager of that organization.

“Customers will understand they have enough potatoes in their own storages now to get to the end of their marketing season,” Kevin MacIsaac said Tuesday.

But while french fry sales have stagnated, potato chip sales are up.

“Chip sales have been great,” he said. “Fresh potato sales were really good at the start. They’ve levelled off now as people have shopped and gotten what they need.

“We probably will expect another little bump in fresh sales at the end of Easter weekend.”

And people still have a way to get restaurant fries.

“We’re fortunate in Canada that our drive-thrus are still open,” said MacIsaac. “In Europe, some of our quick service restaurants like McDonald’s, they’ve closed the whole restaurant. That’s been real difficult for them to have no sales out of that building.”

Delivery services such as Skip the Dishes and DoorDash are also maintaining some french fry sales to restaurants, he said.

Meanwhile, his organization is trying to figure out the amount of potatoes in storage so it can forecast how much production will be needed this coming year.

“Some became unexpectedly available on the marketplace, so we’ve got to calculate those figures first from each province and figure out where that comes in.”

— Alexis Kienlen reports for Alberta Farmer from Edmonton.

The post Plummeting french fry sales have potato growers re-evaluating appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.