Reading Time: 6 minutes July’s devastating heatwave has destroyed crops and pastures across Alberta, leaving producers in all corners of the province wondering what their options are at this point of the growing season. “It’s been pretty hard,” said Valerie Ehrenholz, who runs a mixed operation near Barrhead with her father. “I haven’t been farming that long — the […] Read more
Heatwave wreaks havoc on Alberta crops
Governments are rushing to help but fears are mounting as the crisis grows
Oat crop across Western Canada ‘not stellar’
MarketsFarm — As with most other crops on the Prairies, conditions are “not stellar” for oats, according to Shawna Mathieson, executive director for the Prairie Oat Growers Association. POGA directors from across the region who participated in a recent board meeting had a rather grim outlook on the coming harvest, she said. “Not a single […] Read more
Canada’s canola acres up from earlier forecast
Wheat acres up; barley, oats, corn revised lower
MarketsFarm –– Canadian farmers seeded more canola in 2021 than originally intended, with a number of other crops also seeing adjustments higher as dry weather through the planting season allowed for a fast seeding pace. In its June estimates of principal field crop areas, released Tuesday, Statistics Canada pegged total canola planted area at 22.5 […] Read more
Canola, wheat acres in opposite trends before StatsCan report
'Every commodity was offering options that were profitable'
MarketsFarm — Just days prior to Statistics Canada issuing its latest survey-based crop acreage report on Tuesday next week, analysts are estimating a rise in canola acres at the expense of wheat. “Coming through the winter and towards spring seeding, we were looking at canola prices that were at their highest levels of all time,” […] Read more
A great year for the bottom line of grain farmers
Farm income rose by half a billion in Alberta last year — although our neighbour did even better
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farm income in Alberta took a hefty jump last year, but nothing compared to our next-door neighbour. Net cash income rose by 15 per cent in Alberta to $3.9 billion, which is a $447-million increase from 2019. But in Saskatchewan, net cash income skyrocketed to $6.4 billion — a whopping 78 per cent increase of […] Read more
Chlormequat warning for all barley uses
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chlormequat — the active ingredient in the plant growth regulator product Manipulator — has been given a Yellow/Be Informed rating in Keep it Clean’s product advisory listing for barley, whether it’s sold for malt, food or feed. Previously it had a Green/Acceptable rating except for use on malting barley. “Growers should talk to their grain […] Read more
Canada left with very tight canola, barley stocks
'You can't find canola anywhere in the country'
MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s grain stocks report leaves no question that canola stocks have been tight for some time in Canada and will continue to be unless demand is slashed, according to independent trader Jerry Klassen in Winnipeg. “You can’t find canola anywhere in the country and the stocks that are out there, a lot […] Read more
‘Go west’ is paying off for British maker of plant-based ingredients
Its Calgary division plans to source — and eventually process — its yellow peas locally
Reading Time: 4 minutes Plant-protein processing is slowly but surely making its way to Alberta with the recent launch of Lovingly Made Ingredients in Calgary. The ingredient manufacturing arm of the British company Meatless Farm began production in its 33,000-square-foot facility in March. And so far, Alberta is proving to be the right location for the rapidly growing startup. […] Read more
More canola, less wheat expected ahead of StatsCan report
'Returns per acre are just so much stronger'
MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers are seen as likely to plant more canola and barley and less wheat this spring, as market participants await the first survey-based estimates from Statistics Canada on Tuesday to confirm the extent of that shift. “Canola will gain acres and wheat will lose acres,” said MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville, pointing […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prices to remain strong in spring
MarketsFarm — Higher prices for feed grains in Western Canada are expected to stay that way, according to a trader in Alberta. Erin Harakal, senior trader for Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta., said factors such as increased demand overseas and depleted domestic stocks will continue to keep prices elevated for feed grains. While she doesn’t […] Read more
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