Photo: File

Feed weekly outlook: Barley exports slowing down, local prices steady

Feedlots relatively well covered

MarketsFarm — Canadian barley exports slowed down in January, but out-of-country movement is still running ahead of the year-ago pace, according to updated export data from the Canadian Grain Commission. Canada exported 131,100 tonnes of barley from licensed facilities in January, with China the top customer taking 100,500 tonnes. Total barley exports were well off […] Read more

Always check to see if maltsters will accept a new variety before diving in head first.

Online tool offers deep – but quick – dive into malt barley varieties

Interactive map offers a host of info, including data from malt trials conducted across Alberta

Reading Time: 3 minutes Want to stop growing malt barley like it’s 1999? Alberta Barley is here to help. The new ‘Better Malt, Better Barley’ online interactive map allows users to see how a number of both old and new malt barley varieties fare in different parts of the province. “A long-standing issue in the Canadian malt industry has […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Calves jump on corn outlook

Softer barley values underpin yearling market

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 to as much as $12 above week-ago levels. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $332-$335 delivered, up $5-$8 from last week. Stronger fed cattle prices and softer barley values underpinned the yearling market. Buyers were finicky […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed grain weekly: Prices slip back on good supplies

Demand for corn from Manitoba, U.S. wanes

MarketsFarm — There are sufficient supplies of feed barley, wheat and corn across the Prairies, according to Evan Peterson, trader with JGL Commodities. In turn, that’s putting pressure on prices. Peterson said a shortage of trucks and truck drivers last summer and fall led buyers to acquire as much feed as possible to get through […] Read more


The century-old Groot farm hasn’t seen cows for a very long time. But an interest in regenerative ag — and a desire to try something new — prompted the family to push the boundaries on their Gibbons- area farm, says Michael Groot.

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

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

Oats. (Greg Berg photo)

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


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

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

The harvest in mid-September made for a pretty picture but the results from a trial of two biostimulants on durum grown on Bishop Farms didn’t produce any yield or quality differences. Erek Bishop said he wants to conduct further trials.

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


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

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

Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

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