AAFC researcher Fengqun Yu, right, and a research team member inspect an infected plant at Saskatoon’s
research and development centre.

Clubroot ‘race profiling’ can help boost resistance in canola

Research team sets stage for next generation of resistance to pesky crop disease

Reading Time: 4 minutes Racial profiling is not a term most people would want to be associated with. But with clubroot it’s different; it means the ability to select a canola variety that not only resists clubroot in general, but specific “races” of the disease of canola and other brassica plants. When it happens, thank an AAFC research team […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund short position grows in canola

Traders net long in soy, K.C. wheat

MarketsFarm — The speculative short position in canola grew to is largest level in nearly three months in early June, as investors covered longs and put on more bearish bets, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of Tuesday (June 6), the net managed money […] Read more


(Qingwa/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA’s June WASDE report brings few notable changes

Canadian wheat harvest expectation unchanged

MarketsFarm — Very few major changes were made in the latest edition of the world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) published Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the 2023-24 crop year, USDA pegged total domestic wheat production at 1.665 billion bushels, slightly higher than the 1.659 billion in the department’s May estimates. […] Read more

File photo of grilled pork intestine on skewers at a street food stall in the Philippines. (Junpinzon/iStock/Getty Images)

Philippines to host Canada’s Indo-Pacific ag office

AAFC/CFIA base to be set up in Manila, Bibeau says

Canada’s agriculture department and food safety agency will carry out their part of the federal government’s Indo-Pacific strategy from a new office in Manila, Philippines. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the office’s location Wednesday in Ottawa during a meeting with the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), which represents Canada’s export-dependent ag commodity groups on […] Read more


ICE July 2023 canola with 20-day moving average and November 2023 canola (dark green line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola finds support from funds, weather

Crude oil markets also a factor

MarketsFarm — After being in a steady decline over the past month, the ICE Futures canola market was on the rise for the week ended Wednesday. The July canola contract closed Wednesday at $670.30 per tonne, an increase of $20.70 from the week before. Meanwhile, the November canola contract rose $22.60 per tonne over the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Fund traders add to bearish bets in canola

Funds also net short in MGEX and CBOT wheat, corn

MarketsFarm — Speculative fund traders added to their net short position in canola during the week ended May 30, putting on more bearish bets while also liquidating some previous longs, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of May 30, the net managed money short […] Read more


Photo: File

Repeat of record Australian wheat, canola crops unlikely

ABARES expects 2023-24 crop down on year

MarketsFarm — After growing record-large wheat and canola crops in 2022-23, Australia is expected to see a significant drop in production in 2023-24 as developing El Nino weather patterns will likely cut rainfall through the growing season, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). […] Read more

Market sensitivities require farmers to carefully manage certain crop protection products to protect trade.

Complex patchwork of global rules on crop residues makes vigilance important

Keeping track isn’t easy, which is why Keep It Clean puts out an annual list of potential trade risks

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Growers are again being reminded about proper use of crop protection products and their potential impact on trade. Keep It Clean, an initiative of several commodity organizations, recently released its annual list of products that may cause trouble with export sales. “We are export dependant,” Greg Bartley, director of crop protection and […] Read more


If you already have a precision planter for corn, it can work for other crops. Although it produces better, more even emergence, the yield benefit isn't always there, says Gurbir Dhillon, who has been conducting precision planting trials for several years.

Precision planting: Good looks and high yields don’t always go together

Precision-planted crops look great at emergence, but lose that edge if timely rains don't come

Reading Time: 3 minutes If your greatest joy in farming is seeing nice, even emergence, you can’t beat a precision planter. “We tried a bunch of pulse crops, including field peas, chickpeas, lentils, faba beans, soybeans, and we also tried it on irrigated durum and hemp,” said Farming Smarter researcher Gurbir Dhillon. “Seedling emergence and stand establishment improved across […] Read more