Canola plants in flower in a field north of Lorette, Man. on July 20, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie-wide canola variety trial program ending

'Current format' of CPT concludes: commissions

The sun is about to set on the current Prairie-wide canola variety evaluation program run by the three Prairie provinces’ canola grower commissions. SaskCanola, the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and the Manitoba Canola Growers Association announced Monday that 2022 is the final year of the Canola Performance Trials (CPT) “in its current format.” “Going forward, […] Read more

ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola’s wide crush margins supportive

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts backed away from nearby highs during the week ended Wednesday, but historically wide crush margins should keep the market well supported going forward. “The crush margins are unsustainably high,” said Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg, pointing to margins that currently work out to over $200 per tonne […] Read more





File photo of a Conagra production facility at Oakdale, Calif., about 150 km east of San Francisco, on Dec, 18, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Fred Greaves)

Conagra tops profit, sales estimates even as consumers turn thrifty

Reuters — Conagra Brands beat quarterly sales and profit estimates on Thursday, boosted by higher prices for its Marie Callender’s and Slim Jim brands even as consumer demand wanes under the weight of decades-high inflation. Global food companies have been increasing prices over the past year to shield profit margins, which have been squeezed by […] Read more

ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, purple and black lines). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Rising canola prices hit a one-day thud

"There's a day where we need to take a pause"

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola rose like Icarus over the past few weeks, but just like that Greek mythological figure, it flew too high, only to come back down to Earth. After the November canola contract rose in seven of its last eight sessions — in the middle of harvest, no less — and gained […] Read more



Fields with higher soil organic matter are more resilient during drought, and since dry conditions result in half of crop insurance payouts, it’s worth considering whether organic matter should be a factor when calculating premiums, says Stuart Chutter, a product coordinator with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation.

Should soil organic matter be a factor in insurance premiums?

Research, including a study here, has found higher organic matter reduces drought impact

Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers may one day see lower crop insurance premiums if they have high levels of organic matter in their soil. A study by the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation found that farms with higher soil organic matter have better yields and lower crop insurance claims. In the region between Edmonton and Red Deer, AFSC researchers divided fields according […] Read more


A canola crop in Manitoba's Interlake. InVigor is one of the most popular choices for canola in Western Canada.

Complaints prompt change to InVigor seed treatment

There were numerous complaints about poor canola establishment but BASF says it wasn’t a lot of acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – BASF will change the base seed treatment for InVigor canola hybrids next year out of an “abundance of caution,” says a senior company official. The announcement follows a string of farmer complaints this spring about establishment issues in their InVigor stands. The company will remove Vercorace, debuted this year as a broad-spectrum […] Read more

ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line, right column) and NYMEX November 2022 West Texas intermediate crude (black line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola shouldn’t fall hard

Loonie keeping oilseed off sharper decline

MarketsFarm — As Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled to 20-year lows during the week of Sept. 26, they have put a lot of pressure on canola prices, analyst Errol Anderson of ProMarket Communications in Calgary said. However, he said, the Canadian dollar has been the backstop that kept the oilseed from falling with palm oil. […] Read more