Wheat bids rise across Prairies as loonie dips

Wheat bids rise across Prairies as loonie dips

December spring wheat was up 5.75 U.S. cents on the week in Minneapolis

Hard red spring wheat bids in Western Canada rose for the week ending Oct. 27. A drop in the Canadian dollar and gains in Minneapolis futures propped up prices. Depending on the location, average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent) wheat prices were up $11-$13 per tonne across the Prairie provinces, according to

Is a strong loonie a bad thing for Canadian farmers?

Is a strong loonie a bad thing for Canadian farmers?

There’s no doubt our currency’s fluctuation has effects, but they’re not always well understood

From a high of 1.10 to lows of 60 cents per U.S. dollar over the past several decades, the value of the loonie has always had an impact on Canadian farmers. While these fluctuations certainly will influence crop prices we receive here in Canada, what effect does it really have? Is a strong loonie really


It’s a crucial window to ensure soybean harvest quality as the crop comes off and goes into the bin.

Avoid soybean loss during harvest, drying and storage

Shattered beans can badly affect the profitability of your crop

Harvest timing can have a huge impact on soybean shatter losses, according to North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer Ken Hellevang. “Field losses, splits and cracked seed coats increase as moisture content decreases,” he says. “Shatter losses have been shown to increase significantly when seed moisture falls below 11 per cent or when

Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Minneapolis wheat suggests protein will be in short supply

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts trended higher for the past two weeks, despite seasonal harvest pressure, although the bigger picture remains sideways and rangebound. The November contract briefly traded above the 200-day moving average of $497 per tonne on Sept. 22, on the back of some fund buying triggered by a rally in Chicago soybeans.


Sclerotinia seen in canola, aphid populations rise in soybean crops

Manitoba Insect & Disease Update for August 16

Sclerotinia stem rot has been observed in scattered canola fields through the canola disease survey. In most fields levels are low, but incidence was about 50 per cent in a field in the Carman area. Blackleg symptoms are easiest to identify when stems are cut at the base. The perfect time to scout is at harvest, so bring your clippers along

Soybean acres are now higher than wheat, but it’s not certain whether they’re high enough to attract a crushing plant to the province.

Manitoba soybean acreage now higher than red spring wheat

Manitoba farmers’ affection for soybeans has hit new heights. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) projects 2.3 million acres of insured soybeans this year, up 39 per cent from last year’s record and for the first time higher than Canada Western Red Spring wheat. In 2000, Manitoba farmers insured just 18,419 acres of soybeans. Insured plantings


Canola traders consider stress on crops from heat

Canola traders consider stress on crops from heat

ICE Futures Canada canola futures have officially entered what one analyst calls “the silly season weather market.” Futures went through the proverbial roof the week of July 3 on concerns that a Prairie heat wave would stress the crop during its critical flowering period. The dominant November contract climbed $19.30, to hit $517.30 by that

Szilvia Yuja, a research specialist at the Carrington Research Extension Center, applies wet distillers grains as part of a study on the use of distillers grains as a source of fertilizer.

NDSU scientists study distillers grains as fertilizer

Wet distillers grains and condensed distillers solubles 
increased corn and spring wheat yields

Distillers grains could be a source of fertilizer for some crops, according to research at North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center. Wet distillers grains and condensed distillers solubles (sometimes referred to as “syrup”) are organic byproducts of ethanol production from corn. Scientists at the Carrington centre have been testing whether wet distillers grains


Crop management decisions balance agronomics, economics

Crop management decisions balance agronomics, economics

Knowing your numbers is the foundation of good decision-making on your farm

What’s it cost to grow a bushel of wheat, canola, soybeans or corn on your operation? If you can’t answer that question, it’s going to be hard to make informed decisions about how to manage your fields. That’s because production, marketing and management starts with planning, and calculating the cost of production (COP) is the

Editorial: Where have all the good times gone?

Editorial: Where have all the good times gone?

Lately, it’s seemed like one story after another about a record or near-record harvest has passed across my desk. In November, the USDA upped their estimate of an already-record 2016-17 crop. The agency said soybeans would come in at 4.269 billion bushels and corn at 15.057 billion bushels. Market watchers, already expecting a big crop,