Much of Alberta’s bone-dry ground was replenished by the “fantastic recharge” from the June rains, said an analyst with AFSC.

Christmas came in June this year on most farms

On most farms, taps were only turned on for a short while — but the timing was perfect

Reading Time: 4 minutes If you were to tell the story of the 2022 growing season in Alberta, it would be impossible not to mention that rainfall. “The story of the year is June rainfall,” said Stuart Chutter, senior analyst with the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation. [RELATED] Rain sprouts hope among southern Alberta farmers The growing season started out […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund position switches to net long in canola

Net long in CBOT corn decreases on the week

MarketsFarm — The overall speculative position in the ICE Futures canola market swung from net short to net long during the first week of November, marking the first time speculators were holding more longs than shorts in four months. That’s according to the latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report compiled by the U.S. Commodity Futures […] Read more


Crush plants on the Prairies are going flat out these days, including the four in Alberta at Lloydminster (ADM), Fort Saskatchewan (Bunge), Camrose (Cargill) and Lethbridge (Richardson).

They’re crushing it: Canola plants seeing big-time profits

High crush margins mean demand should stay strong, but premiums for growers are scarce

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canola crush profits are high, but that’s no reason for growers to break out the champagne, say Alberta producers. Crush plants are riding a wave of demand and processed about 794,000 tonnes of seed in September, the most in a year. And with crush margins well above $200 per tonne for futures contracts (more than […] Read more

Applying research results on the farm can be challenging, especially when something has been working fairly well, says agronomy research extension specialist Jeremy Boychyn.

On-farm research sprouts fresh ideas for producers

Crop commissions are helping farmers get solid answers to questions they have on their farms

Reading Time: 3 minutes Do on-farm trials make a difference when applying research to real life? Several of the province’s crop commissions think so. Even when research results seem clear cut, things can get complicated when farmers try to apply them on the farm, says Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley. Boychyn points […] Read more


(FITTrials.com)

Competition Bureau’s call for Manitoba elevator sale rejected

Bureau 'carefully reviewing' Competition Tribunal decision

A federal antitrust tribunal’s decision may soon make Canadian grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker the uncontested owner of the full set of Louis Dreyfus’ Prairie grain elevators. In a decision dated Oct. 31, the Competition Tribunal — the federal quasi-judicial body with the power of approval over any antitrust actions proposed by the federal Competition […] Read more

ICE January 2023 canola (candlesticks) with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Trader sees canola topping $900 mark soon

Crush margins at 'very, very extreme levels'

MarketsFarm — Despite surpassing the $900 per tonne mark at times during the week ended Wednesday, ICE Futures’ January canola contract never settled above that psychological level. Rising prices prior to the weekend later gave away to selling pressure after the weekend due to a correction in vegetable oil prices, according to broker Ken Ball […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Fund short position in canola dips to four-month low

Net long increases in CBOT soybeans

MarketsFarm — Speculators were busy covering short positions and putting on some fresh longs in the canola market during the week ended Nov. 1. That lowered the net short position in the ICE Futures canola market to its smallest level since the beginning of July, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report compiled […] Read more

A farmer in China piles wheat.  Photo: Reuters/File

China top destination for Canadian wheat through two months

MarketsFarm – China was the main destination for Canadian wheat through the first two months of the 2022/23 (Aug/Jul) marketing year, according to the latest trade data from Statistics Canada. Canada exported 534,000 tonnes of wheat to China in August and September, accounting for about 20 per cent of Canada’s total wheat exports-to-date. Japan, Bangladesh […] Read more


“Next year will be more volatile, and that’s saying something.” – Jacob Shapiro.

Rollercoaster doesn’t begin to describe today’s markets

Don’t expect a return to normal anytime soon, says panel of market watchers

Reading Time: 4 minutes Supply-chain lions and interest-rate tigers and market bears, oh my! That could have been the theme for a recent webinar featuring a host of market analysts, all of whom highlighted just what a volatile time this is. “You have to figure out what is going on in this world, because so much of what is […] Read more