Reading Time: 5 minutes These days farmers are encouraged to be experimental, and to conduct trials on their own land to see what works best for them. What agronomists may not say is just how nerve-wracking it can be. And that goes double when doing something that has rarely, if ever, been done before. In the case of Gibbons-area […] Read more
Boldly going: Potato growers head into unexplored territory
It’s nerve-wracking to be a trailblazer, but Groot family committed to trying something very different on their farm
Feed weekly outlook: Grain bids quietly drift lower
Oats still making their way into feedlots
MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat in Western Canada drifted lower during the week ended Wednesday. Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta., said a relatively milder winter across the Prairies has resulted in less consumption of feed grains in feedlots. In turn, feedlots are not purchasing as much […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Grain stocks set tone for barley, wheat
Barley expected to go bullish in April, May
MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) grain stocks report issued earlier this week largely met trade expectations, according to Winnipeg-based independent trader Jerry Klassen. The survey-based report, which estimated the country’s grain stocks as of Dec. 31, was neutral for spring wheat, supportive of durum, and pointed toward barley being somewhat bullish come spring, he said. […] Read more
Search for the holy grail of N fertilizer continues
You can now buy nitrogen-fixing bacteria for your crops but when it comes to wheat, the jury is out
Reading Time: 5 minutes A real-world test of nitrogen-fixing bacteria conducted in Alberta was a bust when it came to boosting yields, but no one is throwing in the towel yet. “It’s too early to tell. You can’t base anything off one year worth of trial data,” said Erek Bishop, a participant in one of four trials of Utrisha […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prairie markets hold steady
U.S. corn imports keep lid on domestic grains
MarketsFarm — Feed grain markets in Western Canada have seen little change over the past few weeks. Feed barley bids across Western Canada have generally held steady over the past month, with the spot market topping out at $9.58 per bushel in Alberta, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Prices in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are […] Read more
China top destination for Canadian grains, oilseeds
CGC data points to key destinations
MarketsFarm — China is the top destination for Canadian grain and oilseed exports through the first five months of the 2022-23 marketing year, accounting for roughly a third of the total movement, according to the latest monthly report from the Canadian Grain Commission. Canada has exported 6.566 million tonnes of grains, oilseeds, and pulses to […] Read more
Farmers and field trips provide something textbooks can’t offer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Linda Gorim’s goal for her agronomy students is to give them a hands-on experience. “My goal is to get them dirty, and I get them really dirty,” said Gorim, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta and the Western Grains Research Foundation chair in cropping systems. Her field crop agronomy course was created to […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices continue downward
Oats, canola meal also bound for feedlots
MarketsFarm — As colder temperatures descend onto the Prairies, buying activity for feed barley and wheat was just as frigid. “A lot of guys are fairly caught up with purchasing,” said Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Inc. in Lethbridge. “You see the prices of wheat and barley start to trickle down a little bit. Corn’s […] Read more
Few yield boosts, but lots of food for thought in farmer-driven trials
With Plot2Farm, producers themselves answer key questions on emerging practices
Reading Time: 4 minutes Boosting nitrogen in barley, wide- versus narrow-row spacing, and three-way split nitrogen applications were in the spotlight in producer-driven on-farm trials in 2022. Although increased yield wasn’t in the cards in several cases, moments of clarity may have made up for it. Plot2Farm is a field-scale research program in which farmers themselves conduct the kind […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prices slip during quiet January
Shortages of trucks, drivers still trouble cattle sector
MarketsFarm — With January being a quiet time there’s isn’t a whole lot of direction for feed grains, according to Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. Prices for feed barley and wheat have been slowing slipping, he said — especially with feedlots not having to buy and farmers not needing to sell — […] Read more
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