(Vaclav Volrab/iStock/Getty Images)

Ample supply keeps oats under pressure

CNS Canada — Canadian oat crops are in reasonably good shape following recent rains, though prices may find themselves under pressure as end-users are well covered for the time being. Farmers planned on seeding about 3.15 million acres of oats in the country in 2018, down only slightly from the 3.2 million seeded the previous […] Read more

Seeding 99 per cent complete, soil moisture conditions improve

Alberta crop conditions as of June 5, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute Last week just about all agriculture lands across the province received decent rain, with most areas receiving over 10mm. Three major areas received over 20 mm including western Peace, the land base along the Saskatchewan border stretching from Cold Lake down to the U.S. border and a large area west of highway 2 between Edson […] Read more


Dry weather offers a break for late seeding efforts

Alberta crop conditions as of May 29, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute Dry weather conditions helped producers catch up with late seeding and contributed to quick germination and emergence. Recent hot and windy weather lead to the increased drying of both surface soil moisture and sub-surface soil moisture. The forecasted cooler temperatures and scattered showers throughout the province are anticipated to aid overall crop growing conditions. Provincially, […] Read more

Seeding makes good progress, surface soil moisture levels declining

Alberta crop conditions as of May 22, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute Warm and dry weather over the past week provided favourable conditions for seeding operations in most of the province. Provincially, seeding progress has increased 30 per cent from a week ago, to 67 per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average (2013-2017) of 83 per cent. Regionally, seeding progress is most advanced in the Southern […] Read more


A late spring means hurry up and go, but early weed control is 
still critical, says crop specialist Harry Brook.

Weed pressure ramps up in late spring

Weeds that emerge a week before the crop can cause up to 50 per cent yield loss

Reading Time: 3 minutes In a late spring like this one, you might be tempted to skip spraying for weeds to make up for lost time — but that decision could cost you. “The last few years, we’ve had early springs, so people weren’t feeling like they were under the gun,” said Harry Brook, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture […] Read more

Thirty-eight per cent of crops seeded, soil moisture varies

Alberta crop conditions as of May 15, 2018

Reading Time: 2 minutes In the first half of May, temperatures have been the warmest since 1961 in most parts of the province and most areas received less than 10 mm of moisture. This has provided the ideal weather for quick ground thaw and allowed for seeding operations to be in full swing across the province. Provincially, as of […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola stocks comfortable, eyes on new crop

CNS Canada — Canadian canola stocks are rather large heading into the new growing season, but attention now is firmly on new-crop production. Statistics Canada on Friday pegged canola supplies in the country as of March 31 at 9.1 million tonnes, the second-largest on record for that time of year and about 1.1 million tonnes […] Read more