File photo of canola under snow in October 2016. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Unharvested crops skew StatsCan stocks data

MarketsFarm — Canadian canola stocks were slightly tighter at the end of the 2019 calendar year compared to the previous year, according to updated Statistics Canada data. However, adverse harvest conditions left a large amount of the crop unaccounted for in the survey, which skews the overall supply/demand outlook. “Because of poor weather conditions during

Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River on Zimbabwe’s northwestern border with Zambia. (CIA.gov)

Zimbabwe says grain stocks running out after drought

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe has only 100,000 tonnes of grain in its strategic reserves, enough to last just over a month, as the southern African nation suffers the effects of a severe drought, according to the agriculture minister. More than half the country’s population faces food shortages after maize harvests halved last year. The


Brian Pallister Ag Days

KAP pegs carbon tax cost for grain drying at $1.7M

Both Keystone Agricultural Producers and the province are hoping the federal government will give ground on a carbon tax exemption for grain drying

Keystone Agricultural Producers says carbon tax cost corn producers $1.7 million in grain drying last fall. It’s money the provincial government says they shouldn’t have to pay. Both the province and Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) are pushing for a carbon tax exemption for grain drying, following 2019’s wet harvest. During his comments at Ag Days



A GSI grain drying system at Bashaw, Alta. (Grainews photo courtesy Western General)

Prairie provinces react to Bibeau’s questions on carbon price impact

Ottawa — The Saskatchewan and Manitoba governments continue attempts to convince the federal government’s carbon pricing program puts farmers at a disadvantage. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau recently suggested the carbon pricing system may not be disadvantaging farmers, questioning the impact of carbon pricing on agriculture, but saying she will continue to seek out more



Many Manitoba farmers felt the pain of a hard season.

Manitoba farmers challenged by 2019 crop

The worst part was the ‘harvest from hell’, which for some still isn’t over

Too dry, too wet and then it snowed. Lots. That sums up Manitoba’s 2019 growing season, culminating with the “harvest from hell,” which for some farmers won’t end until spring. “I have often said it’s not a good sign when you’re harvesting and they’re playing Christmas carols on the radio,” Minto farmer and Keystone Agricultural




Canola in swath near Starbuck, Man. on Aug. 10, 2019. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

StatsCan report puts canola production at lowest since 2015

MarketsFarm — Data from Statistics Canada’s production of principal field crops report, released Friday morning, will likely be supportive of canola values, put pressure on barley, and keep wheat prices steady. In the report, canola production across Canada decreased by 8.3 per cent nationally to 18.6 million tonnes, compared to 2018 production volumes. The decreased