Potato digging went relatively smoothly this year, but drought and high temperatures caused disappointing yields.

Potato crop a mixed bag

Drought has struck yet again, hitting Manitoba’s potato yield

While some potato growers are expecting to deliver on their contract volumes this year, others will once again be short thanks to heat and drought, adding yet another tough potato year into the record books. Why it matters: Potatoes did not dodge the drought concerns suffered by other crops this year, and many producers are,

Sea surface temperature anomalies over the Pacific Ocean in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Oct. 13, 2021. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Another La Nina winter predicted

Polar vortex to chill Prairies, more snow further east, AccuWeather says

Data compiled by a U.S. federal weather forecasting agency show La Nina conditions have developed over the central Pacific Ocean and are likely to linger through February. And La Nina, in turn, is expected to produce hard cold snaps over the Prairies, above-normal precipitation over southern British Columbia and relatively mild temperatures with more snow



A sunflower crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

Rains make sunny days for sunflower crops

MarketsFarm — Despite drought conditions throughout southern Manitoba decimating crops during the summer, late rain showers in some areas are improving harvests of one crop in particular. Precipitation in August helped improve the sunflower seed harvest in areas of Manitoba, with the province reporting on Oct. 13 average yields of more than 2,000 lbs. per


Yellow peas. (Victoria Popova/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Yellow peas selling at a premium

Local fractionation markets competitive

MarketsFarm –– Last summer’s lacklustre pea harvest in Western Canada has helped raise prices, but none more so than those of yellow peas. Yellow peas were trading at a high-delivered bid of $17.50 per bushel, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data from Monday, up $1.50 from the same time last month and $9.50 from the

Comment: A hard year for the grain sector

Comment: A hard year for the grain sector

Relationships are key to navigating contracts this marketing year

It’s an understatement to suggest that this was a hard year for crop producers and grain buyers in Manitoba. An “epic drought,” as one provincial cabinet minister described in August, left some producers across the province without enough grain to fulfil their contracts with buyers. With yields down across the board, there has been a


An eastward-facing view from the north edge of the crossing at Mile 98.14 of CN’s Ashcroft subdivision, where BCWS suspected the Lytton fire began. (TSB photo)

No evidence trains sparked Lytton fire, TSB says

Transportation Safety Board now stepping out of ongoing fire probe

There’s no proof the fire that largely destroyed a British Columbia village, damaged a key rail bridge and led to cuts in rail speed limits in high-risk areas was sparked by train traffic, the federal Transportation Safety Board says. The TSB on Thursday said its investigation, launched in early July, “has not revealed any evidence

(Andreus/iStock/Getty Images)

Hay-starved Prairies fertile ground for online scammers

At least $64,000 lost in Alberta alone, RCMP says

High demand, scarce supplies and rising prices for hay and other feeds due to this summer’s drought on the Prairies have made a market for online scammers, RCMP warn. The urgency driving such transactions may cause ranchers, farmers and farm workers to make purchases “without taking time to properly verify or research production sources,” Alberta


CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with ICE November 2021 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans touch last December’s lows

Soy, corn production bigger than previously expected, USDA says

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures dropped on Tuesday to the lowest seen since December 2020, after a U.S. government report pegged soybean and corn production to be bigger than traders had previously expected. The monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report pegged the soybean crop at 4.448 billion bushels, and soybean

Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

Exports tumble as supplies simply not there

'There's very little to sell'

MarketsFarm — Cereal and oilseed exports out of Canada nosedived in August just as the 2021-22 marketing began, according to the monthly export report from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). At about 2.24 million tonnes, total grain exports were down 38.5 per cent overall compared to those in August 2020. “There’s very little to sell.