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ICE weekly outlook: Watch for canola to climb higher 

MarketsFarm – There’s the possibility of the nearby January canola contract reaching upwards to C$1,000 per tonne, according Winnipeg-based analyst Wayne Palmer of Exceed Grain. “I think you got canola somewhere in the winter months maybe trading close to $1,000 again in January,” he said. Palmer placed his suggestion on the sharp upticks that soyoil […] Read more

A combine in the Interlake runs against the setting sun on Nov. 1, 2022, in an effort to wrap up harvest.  Photo: Greg Berg

Manitoba nets average crops in 2022 after wet spring

MarketsFarm – Wet spring conditions delayed seeding operations across much of Manitoba to start the 2022 growing season, but warm summer conditions allowed for good development with yields for most crops showing a marked improvement over the drought-stricken 2021 harvest, according to the final crop report of the season from Manitoba Agriculture. On a crop-by-crop […] Read more


Strong commodity prices to continue: FCC

Strong commodity prices to continue: FCC

Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada is forecasting “another year of excellent crop prices,” albeit with big declines for some crops. The ag lender predicts canola will average $870 a tonne this crop year, which is $100 below the 2021-22 average but well above the five-year average of $490. FCC forecasts spring wheat prices to average $430 a tonne […] Read more

Talking to your input dealer, soil testing, reviewing your cropping plan and even considering manure application might be wiser alternatives to guessing where fertilizer prices might be headed.

Crystal balls are even more wonky this year

The uncertainty factor is as high as fertilizer prices right now

Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers face tough choices about purchasing fertilizer for next year. Buy now? Or roll the dice and hope prices fall? There are reports of price dips in some countries because farmers are balking at the high cost. But the fundamentals aren’t good, said one American fertilizer analyst. “I think prices are going to see continued […] Read more



AAFC made some small tweaks in its estimates for the 2022/23 wheat crop.  Photo: Greg Berg

AAFC tweaks some numbers as canola, pulses remain unchanged

MarketsFarm – While Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada made some changes in its October supply and demand estimates from September, the department didn’t make any alterations to its data for canola, pulses and special crops. The department released its report during the late afternoon of Oct. 21. Of the grains and oilseeds, AAFC’s most notable revisions […] Read more


Alberta crop yields top 10-year average

Alberta crop yields top 10-year average

Reading Time: < 1 minute With harvest mostly complete, dryland yields were running about six per cent above the 10-year-average, although that varied considerably across Alberta. Aggregate yields for the five major crops (wheat, barley, canola, peas and oats) were just slightly below the 10-year average in the south and northwest. They were seven per cent higher in the northeast, […] Read more

ICE January 2023 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 100-day moving average (black line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola sees choppy, sideways month-end trade

Wide crush margins remain bullish

MarketsFarm –– ICE Futures canola contracts held within a narrow range during the week ended Wednesday, lacking any clear direction with the rolling of positions out of the nearby November contract ahead of its expiry behind much of the trade volumes. “We’re stuck a little rangebound here,” a Winnipeg-based trader said of the sideways activity, […] Read more


The canola market outlook this year is more complicated and unsettled than ever, but the traditional advice still applies: manage your risk.

Tough calls: canola marketing is extra complex in an unstable world

Pull the trigger or hold and hope? That perennial question is even more complicated this year

Reading Time: 3 minutes With the most expensive crop ever planted mostly in the bin and the world becoming more unstable by the day, farmers face complex choices for canola marketing. Should they sell what hasn’t been contracted to take advantage of prices hovering around $19 per bushel in early October? Or should they hold and wait for another […] Read more

“The only thing worse than no information is bad information — and those grain plans represent bad information.” – Wade Sobkowich.

Railways in the spotlight as shipping season begins

CN and CP say they’ll get the job done but shippers and farmers are concerned

Reading Time: 4 minutes Another chapter in the great Canadian rail transport soap opera may be unfolding. The tempestuous couple — railroads and grain farmers — is on the cusp of another argument over harvest shipping. And there’s no alternative for producers. They’re locked into the relationship. Will CN Rail and CP Rail, which struggled to move a 49-million […] Read more