Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Certain reports had yearling markets trading $3 on either side of unchanged while in southern Alberta, prices were down $2-$4 on average. Calves weighing 600 to 750 lbs. were $4 lower to $4 higher and feeders under 600 lbs. were steady to $3 […] Read more

Klassen: Uncertain feed grain market weighs on feeder cattle

Cows love it but growing corn for silage or grazing can be tricky
Getting the crop off to a good start through seed selection and good seed placement is critical
Reading Time: 4 minutes Corn can be an attractive option for feeding cattle, but there are a lot of specifics to consider when you choose to grow it. “Corn just tastes good and cows love it. It’s more palatable than barley, and it has a better dry matter intake,” Greg Paranych, agriculture field specialist with the Grey Wooded Forage […] Read more

Demand from China puts Ukraine barley above top-end milling wheat
Kyiv | Reuters — Prices for Ukrainian-origin barley from this year’s harvest have exceeded those of high quality milling wheat due to strong demand from China, analysts at APK-Inform said on Friday. Forward contract prices for 2021 harvest barley stood at $220-$230 a tonne c.p.t. (carriage paid to) Black Sea June-July delivery, while high-quality milling […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: High barley prices to stay awhile
MarketsFarm — The price of feed barley in Western Canada, along with those of other feed grains such as corn and wheat, has jumped over the past year and shows no signs of a drop-off. Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities in Lethbridge said international demand — especially in China, Japan and India — has grown […] Read more

Newer and better malt varieties starting to get some love
Maltsters still smitten with the old standards but the future belongs to new varieties
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s a slow process to get international maltsters to accept new barley varieties, partly because of unfamiliarity and partly because farmers aren’t growing enough of them. “They do prefer what they know, which are varieties like AC Metcalfe and CDC Copeland,” said Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre. “But a […] Read more

U of A gets more funding from grains foundation
Reading Time: < 1 minute The University of Alberta is getting a research plot seeder and combine for its wheat-breeding program thanks to a $289,000 grant from the Western Grains Research Foundation. The program focuses on development of hard red (CWRS) and high-yield (CPS) spring wheat varieties, and also conducts research into genetics of disease resistance, nitrogen-use efficiency in wheat, […] Read more
FarmCash now available across the West
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Wheat is opening up its FarmCash Advance Payments Program to growers across Western Canada. The farm group began the program in the fall of 2018 and offers cash advances to producers of more than 50 agricultural commodities – including all major crops, livestock and honey. There are 33 “administrators” of the federal loan guarantee […] Read more

Company plans straw-based MDF mega-plant at Trochu
Booming fibreboard demand creates opening for Great Plains MDF
Reading Time: 4 minutes Central Alberta wheat and barley growers may soon be able to turn their straw into gold — or at least into cold, hard cash — once an $800-million MDF plant is up and running near Trochu. The recently announced Great Plains MDF plant will convert roughly 800,000 tonnes of wheat straw annually into 480 million […] Read more

Klassen: Deferred live cattle futures pull feeder market higher
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $5 lower to $3 higher while calves under 600 lbs. were $2 to as much as $7 higher. Yearlings were somewhat sluggish in the eastern Prairie regions, as feedlot operators in Alberta focused on local cattle. Fleshier backgrounded cattle are coming on the market at this […] Read more

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says
Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report
MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more