Istanbul/United Nations | Reuters –– Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are due to sign a deal next week aimed at resuming Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports, but U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned there was still “a long way to go” before there would be peace talks to end the war. Turkish defence minister […] Read more
Ukraine grain exports deal to be signed next week, Turkey says
Drought conditions remain in Alberta, Saskatchewan
MarketsFarm — After copious amounts of precipitation alleviated the most severe drought conditions in Saskatchewan and Alberta, there were still some areas dealing with extreme dryness entering July, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. At the end of June, only 22 per cent of the Prairie region was classified in the Abnormally Dry (D0) to […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Pea bids slip as new crop looms
MarketsFarm — Top-end yellow and green pea bids in Western Canada have come down over the past month, as old-crop activity slows down and attention turns to the new crop. While tight supplies after the 2021 drought did not leave too many unpriced peas in the countryside, some farmers likely still waited too late and […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index at three-month lows
Demand for ocean freight seen backing off
MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have come under pressure over the past month as demand for freight backs away, which could be seen as a sign of the slowing global economy. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which is a major indicator of shipping rates, settled at 2,081 points on Monday, up 14 points from Friday’s […] Read more
Squeezed and struggling: Research groups desperate for funding
Farmer-led groups say producers rely on their work but they’re hamstrung by inadequate, short-term funding
Reading Time: 6 minutes Alberta farmers need local, practical research but applied research associations say they’ve been hamstrung by a lack of provincial funding — and some may have to pack it in if that doesn’t change soon. “A lot of the groups are kind of squeezed to the point where, if we don’t get something secured right now, […] Read more
A big swing in Alberta’s crop outlook
Reading Time: < 1 minute The end-of-June crop report was easily the most uplifting one in a year, both on the crop development front and on soil moisture levels. “This week, 75 per cent of all crops in the province are rated in good or excellent condition, only marginally behind both the five-year and 10-year averages,” says the June 27 […] Read more
Pulse sector fears another ‘container crunch’ come fall
Prices have fallen a bit but they’re still sky high and a container shortage persists
Reading Time: 4 minutes The supply of shipping containers is a little less tight — but the problem isn’t fixed and could flare up again this fall, says an official with Pulse Canada. Rates peaked last autumn, then started rising again in the new year before finally beginning a steady downward trend in February, according to the World Container […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Acre intentions down for most pulses
MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s principal field crop areas report, released Tuesday, shows declines in most pulse crops compared to last year. Only lentils saw an increase, rising slightly by 0.4 per cent from 2021-22 to now 4.32 million. Meanwhile, dry peas fell 11.8 per cent at 3.37 million aces, with edible beans down 32.1 per […] Read more
StatCan raises Canada’s canola plantings from earlier estimate
Farmers seen returning to 'steady Eddie' wheat
MarketsFarm –– Canadian canola plantings are projected to come in above earlier expectations but would still be well below what was seeded to the crop in 2021, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada released Tuesday. Meanwhile, wheat area in the country is forecast at its highest level in nearly a decade. After a […] Read more
CN signals staff to return to work Wednesday
IBEW, railway to go to binding arbitration
Signals and communications workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) are set to end their 17-day strike and return to work Wednesday morning. CN, in a statement Monday, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, which represents about 750 of the company’s employees across the country, had agreed to take its labour […] Read more