(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC warns of uncertainty in latest crop outlook

MarketsFarm — The supply/demand balance sheets for Canada’s major crops were largely left unchanged in the latest outlook Friday from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. While the March report only saw minor revisions, the government agency cautioned that “the economic outlook, for the world and Canadian grain markets, is particularly uncertain due to the Russian invasion […] Read more

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Feed weekly outlook: Sector bracing for logistics challenge

A CP lockout could put feeders weeks behind in supplies

MarketsFarm — Feed grain buyers in Alberta’s feedlot alley are well covered with contracted supplies, but the logistics of getting that grain where it needs to be are facing some uncertainty with looming labour action at Canadian Pacific Railway. Buyers in feedlot alley are about 80 per cent covered right now, said Jim Beusekom of […] Read more


Malt barley academy kicks off next week

Malt barley academy kicks off next week

Reading Time: < 1 minute For the first time ever, the well-respected Producer Malt Academy is being held in Alberta. The two-day course (to be held March 23-24 in Red Deer) is being put on by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in collaboration with Alberta Barley. The event features a number of presentations by well-known experts on barley selection […] Read more

Hybrid rye has better hardiness than winter wheat and more yield than its conventional open-pollinated cousin.

Hybrid rye brings flexibility and vigour for cattle feeders

Still a relatively new crop here, hybrid rye deserves a good look as a feed grain, say proponents

Reading Time: 4 minutes Hybrid rye might just be the closest a producer can come to a one-size-fits-all solution for feeding cattle, attendees at a recent webinar were told. “There’s a lot of flexibility to it,” said Nathan Penner, commercialization manager at FP Genetics. “The thing I like about it is there’s options to use it in multiple different […] Read more


Agronomy conference recap now available online

Agronomy conference recap now available online

Reading Time: < 1 minute Slides from presenters at Agronomy Update in January are now being posted online. So far, there are slides from presentations on weed control, the “lygus apocalypse,” effect of heat and drought on pests, fungicide application, soil sensors, how pulses impact soil health, fertilizer considerations for 2022, cover cropping, herbicide carry-over, herbicide-resistant weeds, pulse research, secondary […] Read more



Photo: File

Klassen: Surge in feed grain prices shocks feeder cattle market

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $3-$5 lower on average. Feeder cattle weighing 650 to 800 lbs. were relatively unchanged to $3 lower. Calves under 650 lbs. were steady to $4-$6 lower in Alberta, unchanged in Saskatchewan and $3-$5 higher in Manitoba. Fleshier yearlings and calves were heavily discounted last week with […] Read more

(File photo)

Low demand for barley keeps prices stable

Wheat's volatility not reflecting onto barley values

MarketsFarm — Unlike the dramatic leaps wheat prices have made since the Russian invasion of Ukraine 12 days ago, malt barley prices have moved very little, according to Kris Moric of Johnston’s Grains in Calgary. Wheat “is not pulling barley prices with it, as far as we can see on our end,” Moric said, noting […] Read more



Manitoba’s ag department is forecasting oats could be the biggest money maker this year. There’s a lot of good data in the report but growers here expect canola will be No. 1 and barley a good choice, too.

Forecasting the future: What crop will be king in the coming year?

Oats is being touted as the profitability champion, but canola’s reign also looks set to continue

Reading Time: 4 minutes Scott Keller is pretty impressed with the latest crop profitability outlook from Manitoba’s Ag Department — but he’s not buying its prediction that oats will be this year’s No. 1 money-maker. Canola is still king and its reign isn’t going to end any time soon, said the grain farmer from New Norway. “Nothing will even […] Read more