Durum plants on Aug. 28, 2023 near Acadia Valley, Alta., about 160 km north of Medicine Hat, stand shorter with fewer kernels than normal due to dry conditions. (Photo courtesy Darold Niwa/Handout via Reuters)

Prairie Forecast: Mostly sunny and warm

Issued Aug. 30, covering Aug. 30 to Sept. 6

It’s a straightforward forecast for this period as the general weather pattern looks to be pretty quiet. It starts with a large area of high pressure centred over the Great Lakes with a weak area of low pressure over Alberta. The Great Lakes high will put sunny skies and warm temperatures over much of Manitoba […] Read more

Before applying any crop protection product, read the label to find the application rate, timing and pre-harvest interval.

Do you know your trade MRLs?

Pre-harvest is the time to protect the crop’s marketability for international markets

Reading Time: 4 minutes Maximum residue limits can affect the marketability of a crop, so farmers need to heed them, say crop market experts. “Because we produce so much beyond what we need for our domestic demand for food, we really do need to keep in mind market access and those requirements that we see with our export partners,” […] Read more


File photo of Diefenbaker Lake in southern Saskatchewan. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan ag minister to oversee water agency

Marit gets additional duties in cabinet shuffle

Saskatchewan’s minister of agriculture will take on added responsibility for the provincial Water Security Agency following a cabinet mini-shuffle. Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday named David Marit, MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016 an minister for agriculture and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. since 2018, as minister responsible for the WSA. In […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans dip after data shows crop less damaged than feared

Ukrainian farmers not expected to cut winter wheat area

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn prices retreated on Tuesday following U.S. government data showing a smaller-than-expected decline in crop conditions than what many analysts had expected. Wheat hit a two-week low as sluggish demand for U.S. supplies and competition from cheap Russian grain limited the upside in prices. The most active soybean […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Canada to harvest less wheat than expected due to drought

Canola, barley, oats output also projected lower

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers will harvest less wheat than expected after dry conditions in parts of the Prairie provinces shrunk yields, a government report showed on Tuesday. Drought is expected to send global wheat stockpiles for major exporters to the lowest levels in more than a decade, a Reuters analysis has shown. Canada […] Read more

File photo of palmer amaranth — the taller yellowish plants — infesting a U.S. cotton field. (Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Palmer amaranth pops back up in Ontario

Weed infamous in U.S. for multiple herbicide resistances

A single plant that showed up this summer on the edge of a southwestern Ontario cornfield is cause for concern among Canadian farmers, weed specialists warn. Writing Monday in the ag ministry’s Field Crop News, Ontario provincial weed management specialist Mike Cowbrough said the plant in question, found in Wellington County, is confirmed as palmer […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans climb as U.S. crop concerns grow

Crop tour forecasts crops below USDA estimates

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans and corn climbed on Monday after a U.S. farm survey predicted smaller crop production than government forecasts due to hot, dry conditions across the U.S. Midwest. Wheat dipped on weak demand for U.S. crops, coupled with competition from cheap Russian supplies. Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans gained 18 […] Read more

File photo of a thistle plant in a wheat crop. (Dave Bedard photo)

Vietnam to call off thistle seed ban in grain imports

Move will restore regular grain trade, Cereals Canada says

Vietnam is expected to resume nearer-to-normal grain trade with exporting nations such as Canada, after it loosens a significant restriction on weed seed content. Cereals Canada, a national cereals industry group, on Friday reported that Vietnam’s agriculture ministry has released a revised quarantine pest list due to take effect Sept. 29. The new list, Cereals […] Read more


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans climb on weather risk, export demand

Pro Farmer tour predicts corn, soy crops below USDA estimate

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans climbed on Friday, bolstered by extreme heat and mixed results on the final day of a Midwest crop tour. Corn traded much of the day mixed, ending just under even as crop production remains robust, despite recent yield-eroding weather. Wheat fell as global supplies remain plentiful, though signs of […] Read more

File photo of a small boat flying the Lebanese flag at a marina in Tripoli as a cargo vessel sails in the distance. (Joel Carillet/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine asks Lebanon to bar Syrian ship carrying ‘stolen’ corn

Corn taken from multiple storage units, Ukraine alleges

Beirut | Reuters — Ukrainian officials on Thursday asked Lebanon to bar a Syrian state-owned cargo ship carrying allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain from docking in Lebanon’s Tripoli port, according to the Ukrainian embassy and a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. The Ukrainian mission said in comments to Reuters that the Finikia was transporting 6,000 metric […] Read more