CNS Canada — Farmers on the Prairies can expect decent weather for this harvest season, according to Drew Lerner, meteorologist and founder of World Weather Inc. Most farmers will experience periodic showers, he said, but shouldn’t be subjected to the continual drizzles and sheets of rain that caused heartaches last year. “Most of the Prairies […] Read more
Harvest weather outlook offers reasons to cheer
Klassen: Strong demand surfacing for feeder cattle
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were quite variable over the past week. Auction barns in Manitoba and Saskatchewan remain in holiday mode. However, markets are coming to life in Alberta. Certain ranchers are starting to sell early bloomers and there’s no shortage of demand for these yearlings. In east-central Alberta, a couple of small groups […] Read more
Drought-related livestock tax deferral zones widen again
More ranchers in five provinces may now be able to defer some of their taxable income from their livestock sales in 2016 due to drought. The federal government on Aug. 4 announced its final list of drought-designated regions where the livestock tax deferral provision will be allowed for the 2016 tax year, and has included […] Read more
Crop conditions decline in Alberta, recent rains offer little benefit
Alberta crop conditions as of August 8
Reading Time: 2 minutes Recent scattered rain across the province has been too light and variable to significantly improve soil moisture and crop conditions, especially in the Southern and Central Regions. Crop condition ratings declined for the Southern and Central Regions, improved for the North West and Peace Regions and remained unchanged in the North East Region from last […] Read more
DuPont to buy up farm software firm Granular
A San Francisco company providing farm management software to growers in four provinces and about three dozen states is poised to join the digital arm of DuPont and Dow’s merged agribusiness. DuPont — which as of last week had all regulatory approvals and clearances lined up to complete its merger with Dow Chemical — announced […] Read more
Dry weather worsens declining crop conditions
Alberta crop conditions as of August 1
Reading Time: < 1 minute Provincial Crop Condition ratings declined a further 3 percentage points on the week to 57 per cent rated good or excellent as hot, dry weather continued throughout the South region and has broadened its hold in the Central region. Crop conditions declined 6 points in the South and recorded a significant 14 point drop in […] Read more
Lots to see on cow forage tour
Field Day Aug. 22 at the Lacombe Research Centre
Reading Time: < 1 minute Several on-pasture demonstrations will be held during a field day co-hosted by Livestock Gentec and the Lacombe Research Centre. The Aug. 22 event at the research centre will focus on better understanding the interactions among cows, forage, and genomics and on optimizing cow/forage production. The demonstrations include a multi-site legume tour; high- and low-vigour cows […] Read more
Weather, crop conditions a ‘mixed bag’ for growers
Many came through a late, wet spring better than expected and dry hasn’t equalled disaster — but no one’s expecting a bin buster
Reading Time: 4 minutes For Alberta growers right now, the biggest clouds on the horizon are the lack of them — particularly the ones bringing rain. “It’s a real mixed bag throughout the province with some of the weather conditions that we’ve been dealt,” Rimbey-area producer Jason Lenz said earlier this month. “Certainly the south has some very, very […] Read more
Unseeded acres create ripple effect in the number of insured acres this summer
Insured barley and pea acres are down, but canola, lentil, and hemp acres went up
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two years of rough weather conditions haven’t been enough to drive producers to increase their crop insurance coverage. “I don’t think there’s a huge change in the overall level of insurance participation. The reasons people participate aren’t always dependent on the weather,” said Jesse Cole, research analyst at Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). “There could […] Read more
Crop conditions decline, hot, dry weather continues
Alberta crop conditions as of July 25
Reading Time: < 1 minute Crop condition ratings declined a further 4 points this week to 60 per cent good/excellent, compared to the 5 year average of 74 per cent. Hot, dry weather continues to cover the South region and is now affecting significant portions of the east half of the Central region and parts of the NE region. Heavy […] Read more