Steve Rooke of Shark Farms Ltd. near Nanton, Alta., climbs onto to his tractor pulling a Morris Quantum 60 drill and tank during a recent demonstration of Morris seeding equipment organized by Viterra near High River, Alta. Seeding was 90 per cent complete in Alberta as of May 27, ahead of the five-year average of 81 per cent. Photo: Mike Sturk

Most crops off to good start

Some parts of the Prairies are very dry, but provincial crop specialists say it’s still early in the season

Some parts of the Prairies are very dry, but provincial crop specialists say it's still early in the season



Photo: Allan Dawson/File

Seeding at halfway mark in Saskatchewan

Good weather aids planting

Favourable weather has allowed Saskatchewan farmers to make good seeding progress, with 49 per cent of intended acres in the ground as of May 12, according to the latest provincial report. That's up from 31 per cent the previous week and compares with the five-year average of 32 per cent.


Soybeans enjoy good emergence in a field in Manitoba's Interlake in 2019. Timing and conditions during 
soybean planting are crucial to 
emergence and yield.

Soybean seeding on early side

Cooler nights slow emergence and crop development

With adequate rainfall and warmer soil temperatures, soybean seeding across Manitoba is well underway. Manitoba Agriculture’s May 21 crop report placed soybean planting at 34 per cent complete. If nighttime temperatures don’t warm up more than they have recently, soybean plants will likely emerge around 15 to 17 days after planting, said Dennis Lange, a

Seeding progression in 2024 compared to previous years.

Agro-Manitoba sees more precipitation, seeding progress behind five-year average

Manitoba Crop Report: Issue 5 (week 21)

Seeding progress has been observed in many areas of the province this past week and is now at 64 per cent complete. Producers have focused on planting corn (80 per cent complete), spring wheat (87 per cent complete) barley (79 per cent  complete) and peas (96 per cent complete). Canola planting continues with 41 per


File photo of a soybean plantation in Brazil. (Mailson Pignata/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil’s second corn crop facing delays

Acres either too dry or too wet for planting

MarketsFarm — There remained little doubt that Brazil’s corn safrinha (second) crop will be smaller than initially anticipated, according to Dr. Michael Cordonnier of Soybean and Corn Advisor Inc. He chalked up most of that due to conditions being too dry and too wet for the planting of Brazil’s soybean crop, depending on the region.

Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse weekly outlook: recent rains could stabilize crops 

Prices for pulses across Western Canada have been steady

Marketsfarm – Despite the rain the Canadian Prairies received since July 17, MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville pointed out that the major pulse crop areas got very little.  While any precipitation has been beneficial to this year’s crops struggling with dry conditions, Jubinville said, it won’t help that much.  “In terms of advancing pea and


Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canadian canola, wheat area up on the year: StatCan

More soybean, corn acres also estimated

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers planted more canola than earlier intentions, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada released Wednesday. Meanwhile, wheat plantings hit their highest level in more than two decades. Total canola plantings were estimated at 22.1 million acres by the government agency, which compares with the 21.6 million expected in April and

(Dave Bedard photo)

Analysts expect little change in new StatCan numbers

Weather was 'pretty conducive to plantings'

MarketsFarm — Dry conditions in much of the Prairies this spring may leave seeding areas relatively unchanged ahead of Statistic Canada’s (StatCan) principal field crop report, due to be released Wednesday. It will be the second survey-based acreage report for the 2023-24 marketing year, after the first one was released in April. While growing conditions