Crop Report – for Jul. 28, 2011

SOUTHWEST REGION Rainfall over the past week varied from 10 to 50 mm. Good growing conditions helped crops advance and several crops have improved over the past week. Cereal crops in the Southwest Region are in the heading stage and late-seeded crops have tillered and are going into the flag-leaf stage. Late-seeded greenfeed is in

Ugly Perennials Getting Admiring Looks

In a back corner of the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm is a nursery of what most farmers would consider butt-ugly plants with spindly stems, tiny seeds, and weedy characteristics. But they might just be the salvation of grain farming if the impact of climate change falls hard on the Canadian Prairies. The plots contain


Letters – for Jul. 28, 2011

The July 14 article, “Subsidies, new methods lift Zambian farm yields,” clearly positions accessing subsidies as being more important than applying the principles of conservation farming as key to increasing smallholder food production in Zambia. The experience of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is quite different. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank supports numerous conservation farming projects where

In Brief… – for Jul. 21, 2011

Construction underway: Legumex Walker Inc. is starting construction of its 10th production facility, a canola oilseed-processing plant in Warden, Washington. The new facility, the company’s first in the United States, will produce expeller-pressed canola oil and high-quality canola meal. The plant will be the first commercial-scale canola-crushing operation west of the Rockies and is well


Weather Concerns Drive Markets

Canola futures on the ICE Canada trading platform continued their upward trek during the week ended July 15 with weather concerns and a pickup in demand assisting the price gains. Some of the weather concerns were linked to the Canadian Prairies and differing opinions on the condition of the canola crop in each of the

Brazil Brings Farming Muscle To Corn And Cotton

After transforming global agriculture by quintupling their soybean production since 1980, Brazilian farmers are now on the brink of crop breakthroughs in cotton and corn, long dominated by growers in America. Helped by high futures prices and a sustained local agricultural boom, cotton and corn acreage is spreading fast, despite being twice as capital intensive


Emerging Fast-Food Nation Indonesia Props Up Wheat Market

Indonesia will be crowned top Asian wheat importer this year, as higher incomes turn Southeast Asia’s largest economy into a fast-food nation and help to keep global prices on the boil. As affluent Indonesians turn away from rice, their country is vying with Japan to be Asia’s leading wheat buyer, while the latter battles economic

Crop Report – for Jul. 21, 2011

SOUTHWEST REGION In the Southwest Region rainfall was spotty over the past week with reported amounts of five to 40 mm. Warm, dry conditions have helped to dry up fields and several producers were able to spray unseeded acres. Early-seeded cereal crops are in the flag-leaf to early-heading stage and several producers are applying fungicides


Importers To Limit Reliance On Cheap Russian Wheat

Russia has aggress ively undercut rivals to quickly reestablish itself in global wheat exports markets after an absence of almost a year but key buyers such as Egypt are likely to look to spread their supply risks once the price gap narrows. Exports from both Russia and neighbour Ukraine are expected to rebound strongly in

Global Food Inflation To Return After Brief Respite

Red-hot food inflation that has vexed policy-makers around the world seemed to take a breather last month, when corn and wheat prices tumbled on reports that crop shortages were easing. The sell-off was also driven by global economic worries that prompted funds to exit grains in droves. But prices are climbing again, and have already