Dexter Lethbridge says the right forage mix can help manage saline soils.

Mix up forages to fight soil salinity

Saline land improved by a number of grasses, say researchers at Ag in Motion

Reading Time: 2 minutes A mix of grasses can help address salinity problems on marginal farmland, says a forage expert. “The nice thing about a mix is you’re kind of guaranteed that something will catch,” said Dexter Lethbridge, a product line rep with Proven Seeds for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Lethbridge, Alta. Partnering with Ducks Unlimited, Proven/Nutrien set out […] Read more

File photo of a sunrise over an Alberta barley crop. (MNphotography/iStock/Getty Images)

Feed weekly outlook: Crop conditions, barley demand lower

Prices expected steady to lower for now

MarketsFarm — As combining operations begin, dryness continues to plague crops in many parts of Saskatchewan. But while crop conditions aren’t as bad as they were during the drought of 2021, according to trader Evan Peterson from JGL Commodities in Saskatoon, crops are still very parched. “Southern and western parts are very, very poor. But […] Read more


(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Upward momentum in feeder market eases

Feedlots seen in 'risk assessment mode'

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged. Higher-quality groups of yearling heifers appeared to trade steady to $2 higher on average while steer markets traded $3-$4 higher to $2 lower. Calf prices are unchanged from seven days earlier. The rally in deferred live cattle futures has stalled for the time […] Read more

(Photo: Reuters/Diego Vara)

Saskatchewan Crop Report: Dryness continues as harvest begins 

Since April 1, the entirety of the province received 200 mm or less of rain

MarketsFarm – With the exception of a handful of areas, most of Saskatchewan remained dry for the week ended July 31 as harvest operations began in the province’s southwest and west-central regions. Areas north of Prince Albert and northwest of Kindersley, as well as inside and around Hudson Bay each saw more than 30 millimetres […] Read more


(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Influx of cheaper U.S. corn pushing down prices

Weaker Chicago corn prices led to a 50-cent/bu. drop in Alberta feed barley, wheat

MarketsFarm – Feed grain prices took a tumble this week in Alberta, said Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. “It’s kind of shocking. I know we had some harvest start in the southern part [of the province]. It seems to have really affected prices. Of course, corn got cheap with the futures dropping […] Read more

  Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko/File

Saskatchewan crops a mixed bag 

Some cereal crops beyond harvesting with plans to salvage for feed

Marketsfarm – There was a wide mixture of the results in the latest crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture. Parts of the province were hobbled by drought conditions, while other areas received upwards to 40 millimetres of rain following a series of thunderstorms during the week of July 18 to 26.  The desiccation of pulse crops […] Read more


(File photo by Lorraine Stevenson)

Oilseed crush down, grain deliveries rise in June: StatCan

Canadian grain deliveries reached a three-month high in June

 Marketsfarm – Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its June oilseed crush and grain delivery statistics, showing a small decline for the former, but a large gain for the latter from the month before.  Oilseed processors in Canada crushed 772,345 tonnes of canola last month, as well as 139,164 tonnes of soybeans for the month of June […] Read more

Ranchers in Alberta’s Special Areas say pastures had gone brown even before the grasshoppers arrived.

Drought and infestation woes grow throughout province

Special Areas is latest jurisdiction to declare agricultural state of emergency

Reading Time: 6 minutes Grasshoppers have been chewing their way through hay and other crops all over southern and central Alberta. But in some areas, even grasshoppers have nothing to eat in dry pastures and hay fields. That’s the case with southeast Alberta rancher Brad Osadczuk. And he’s not alone. “I think grasshoppers are looking for green vegetation and […] Read more


A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Dry weather cuts into barley prospects

Canadian buyers already booking new-crop U.S. corn

MarketsFarm — Dry weather across the Canadian Prairies may be cutting into barley production prospects, keeping domestic feed prices underpinned for the time being despite the likelihood of large corn imports from the United States. Alberta’s barley crop was only rated 43 per cent good to excellent in the latest weekly report, well off the […] Read more

Crop conditions in parts of western Saskatchewan have already dropped into crop insurance range, Burce Burnett says. (WeatherFarm video screengrab)

At Ag in Motion: Significant Prairie yield drop expected

'A lot of damage done' by drought, Bruce Burnett says

MarketsFarm has released its first yield estimates for Western Canada’s crops and the outlook is grim. Analyst Bruce Burnett just recently completed a crop tour covering most of Saskatchewan. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of good news on the crop front,” he told growers attending the Ag in Motion show in Langham, Sask. “There […] Read more