MarketsFarm — Canadian canola stocks were slightly tighter at the end of the 2019 calendar year compared to the previous year, according to updated Statistics Canada data. However, adverse harvest conditions left a large amount of the crop unaccounted for in the survey, which skews the overall supply/demand outlook. “Because of poor weather conditions during […] Read more
Unharvested crops skew StatsCan stocks data
Flax prices likely to remain flat
MarketsFarm — Although autumn snowfall limited the quality of a lot of Prairie flax, its price has remained flat, according to Brian Johnson of Johnson Seeds at Arborg, Man. While Johnson has seen some instances of No. 1 flax, he said most of what he’s seen has graded Nos. 2 and 3. “The premiums are […] Read more
Fifty provincial agriculture ministry staff get layoff notices
Many of those losing their jobs are scientists and their work greatly benefited farmers, says a retired researcher
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the second week of December, about 50 staff at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry got a pre-Christmas delivery no one would want — they were laid off. Details have not been released but among those affected are engineers, agrologists, and managers. “This is just another example of where they have taken some significant steps backwards,” […] Read more
StatsCan report puts canola production at lowest since 2015
MarketsFarm — Data from Statistics Canada’s production of principal field crops report, released Friday morning, will likely be supportive of canola values, put pressure on barley, and keep wheat prices steady. In the report, canola production across Canada decreased by 8.3 per cent nationally to 18.6 million tonnes, compared to 2018 production volumes. The decreased […] Read more
Trade’s crop estimates vary ahead of StatsCan report
MarketsFarm — Barley and canola production expectations vary ahead of Statistics Canada’s production of principal field crops report, due out Friday. In September, the federal agency estimated Canada’s barley production to total just less than 10 million tonnes, two million higher than the final count for the 2018-19 growing year. However, some trade estimates are […] Read more
Grain World: Beijing analyst brings different perspective
Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Ivy Li brought a much different perspective about China to the Grain World conference in Saskatoon. Specializing in Chinese agricultural markets, the Beijing-based independent analyst veered away from the usual statements that often cast China as the bad guy on the world stage. Also, Li pointed out, Canada has been doing […] Read more
Alberta farmers grapple with a miserable harvest
There simply aren’t a lot of positives for many producers in the province
Reading Time: 5 minutes This year’s harvest was the season from hell for farmers across Alberta. Many will still be combining next spring, drying grain for weeks to come, and their marketing efforts will resemble a salvage operation. And while producers — particularly in central and northern regions — knew their crops were late in developing, Mother Nature did […] Read more
Alberta harvest continues, 11 per cent of crops remain
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of November 5
Reading Time: 6 minutes Following a cooler than normal growing season, September brought several wet spells, interspersed by two major dry spells, each lasting less than two weeks. In October, wet spells occurred more frequently, with the northern half of the province blanketed with a few cloudy days. Over the past month, all areas in the province experienced below […] Read more
Alberta producers battle for harvest progress
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of October 29
Reading Time: 3 minutes One more week of harvesting between weather events, and another blast of winter this past weekend brought snow or rain to many areas in the west and north halting operations yet again. The strong winds that accompanied the cold front have scattered canola swaths and blown snow into and over top of swaths still left […] Read more
Saskatchewan harvest progresses under adverse conditions: report
MarketsFarm – Saskatchewan farmers continued to plug away at the harvest over the past week, with 90 per cent of the crop in the bin as of Oct. 28, according to the latest provincial report. That was up seven points from the previous week, but still behind the five-year average of 96 per cent complete. […] Read more
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