Reading Time: 4 minutes Groups administering cash advances are expecting a flood of applications from cash-strapped producers grappling with the sky-high costs of putting a crop in the ground. “We certainly think there is going to be demand because of how nasty last year was,” said Dave Gallant of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. “There’s going to be so […] Read more
It’s looking like a bumper crop of cash advances this spring
Cash flow a major issue as drought has left producers with less money while inputs have shot up
Forecasting the future: What crop will be king in the coming year?
Oats is being touted as the profitability champion, but canola’s reign also looks set to continue
Reading Time: 4 minutes Scott Keller is pretty impressed with the latest crop profitability outlook from Manitoba’s Ag Department — but he’s not buying its prediction that oats will be this year’s No. 1 money-maker. Canola is still king and its reign isn’t going to end any time soon, said the grain farmer from New Norway. “Nothing will even […] Read more
EU predicts pain for farmers, consumers from Ukraine crisis
Brussels | Reuters — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and EU sanctions on Moscow will prove painful for farmers, consumers, fertilizer makers and exporters of farm products, the European Commission warned on Monday. Michael Scannell, deputy director-general of the Commission’s agriculture division, said grain buyers should brace for higher prices given that Russia and Ukraine made […] Read more
Vilsack hopes fertilizer firms don’t take advantage of Ukraine crisis
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday he hoped fertilizer and agriculture supply companies affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not take unfair advantage of the situation, amid already-high fertilizer and crop prices. Fertilizer costs have soared due to rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and […] Read more
With fertilizer costs high and seed scarce, U.S. farmers turn to soy
'These prices are just crazy'
Chicago | Reuters — North Dakota farmer Jennifer Meyer typically devotes at least 20 per cent of her 2,500-acre farm to corn, which provides a convenient feed for the cattle she raises with her husband. But this year she is looking to find another crop for those 500 acres near Wilton as she has been […] Read more
Nutrien takes cautious potash approach as rival copes with sanctions
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer company, is bumping up potash production as sanctions restrict its rival in Belarus, but is holding off on bigger expansion, its interim CEO said on Thursday. Potash prices have climbed to decade highs as state-owned Belaruskali, the second-largest producer after Nutrien, copes with U.S. and […] Read more
Two Saskatchewan co-ops to buy ag input retailer
Paragon Ag Service assets to be divvied up
A pair of Saskatchewan co-operatives are expanding their reach in the crop input retail sector in that province’s northeast, with a deal to buy an independent dealership chain. Lake Country Co-op and Prairie North Co-op announced Tuesday they have agreements in place to buy the assets of Melfort-based Paragon Ag Service from owners Sherman Boland […] Read more
Gasoline, diesel prices set to continue rising
MarketsFarm — The steady rise in crude oil prices is based on three factors, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for Oil Price Information Service at Lakewood, N.J. One of those factors is the amount of crude oil produced by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with some […] Read more
Alberta border blockade expected to disperse Tuesday
Decision comes amid arrests, reported violence at blockade
Amid reports of violence involving a farm tractor and trucks — and seizures of weapons — the protest blockade that shut Alberta’s busiest U.S. trade corridor is reported to be winding down starting Tuesday. Several media outlets on Monday quoted organizers of the blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts, Alta. as saying they […] Read more
Windsor-Detroit trade corridor reopens after police clear protesters
Prairie premiers oppose use of Emergencies Act
Windsor/Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — North America’s busiest trade link reopened for traffic late Sunday evening, ending a six-day blockade, the Canada Border Services Agency said, after Canadian police cleared the protesters fighting to end COVID-19 restrictions. Canadian police made several arrests on Sunday and cleared protesters and vehicles that occupied the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, […] Read more