(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC lowers ending stocks estimates on crops

MarketsFarm — Canadian producers will see much tighter grain and oilseed stocks at the end of the current 2021-22 marketing year than what was expected last month, while those for pulse and special crops remain mostly steady. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) September supply/demand estimates, released Friday, project 2021-22 ending stocks for all principal field […] Read more

Production is being fine-tuned at Roquette’s pea processing plant near Portage la Prairie. (Photo courtesy Roquette Canada)

Roquette warns of price rise in plant-based food market

Prairie drought could cut pea yields 45 per cent

Paris | Reuters — A global surge in pea prices linked to low supplies and growing demand for plant protein will inevitably need to be passed on to customers, including makers of alternative food such as meat-free burgers, French producer Roquette said on Monday. The market for alternative protein has soared in recent years, attracting […] Read more


Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry via YouTube)

Buyers found for five Prairie pulse plants

Approvals sought for W.A. Grain asset sales

Three separate buyers are poised to take up the Prairie assets of ill-fated W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions, pending an Alberta judge’s approval. An application went Thursday for approval before Justice Corina Dario of Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary, from BDO Canada, the receiver for the Alberta-based grain and pulse handler and processor. […] Read more



Don’t forget to harvest sample

Don’t forget to harvest sample

Reading Time: < 1 minute Even though grain is in high demand, producers should still be taking samples of each load so they have a representative sample for each bin, says provincial crop market analyst Neil Blue. “The goal is to have a sample that has the same characteristics as the large volume of product it represents,” said Blue. “Producers […] Read more

File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Baltic Dry Index hits 12-year high

Canadian grain exports slow either way

MarketsFarm — Strong demand to move cargo coupled with weather-related shipping constraints in a number of key corridors has helped take ocean freight rates to their highest levels in more than a decade. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, settled Friday at 4,275 points, marking its highest level since November […] Read more


(CPR.ca)

CP, Kansas City lock in new deal as CN steps out

More efficient flow of grain, perishables, machinery parts touted

Canadian Pacific Railway and U.S. railway Kansas City Southern on Wednesday again formalized their engagement after competing suitor Canadian National Railway walked away from the table. CP and KCS, which reported “unanimous” support from both companies’ boards, have entered a merger agreement committing CP to pay about $31 billion in cash and stock, or about […] Read more

Lucent BioSciences says it has developed a new type of water-insoluble micronutrient fertilizer that can significantly improve plant stand counts and yields in field crops.

B.C. startup company says it’s found a better way to deliver fertilizer

Product uses cellulose to bind micronutrients and keep them from leaching away

Reading Time: 4 minutes A Vancouver startup says it has created a “sustainable smart fertilizer” with a product made out of the hulls of lentils and peas. Lucent BioSciences says its product, called Soileos, drives an “on-demand” delivery of nutrients to plants while reducing farmers’ carbon footprint. And because it is made with cellulose, it is not water soluble […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Small Canadian crops lead to marketing shift

MarketsFarm — Canadian pulse markets could see a ‘radical shift’ in the current crop year as drought conditions led to sharp reductions in pea and lentil production. Statistics Canada’s September principal field crop estimates, released Tuesday, and the previous report on Aug. 30 were determined by yield models using satellite imagery. MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike […] Read more

It’s way more profitable to ship containers back to China empty, says the vice-president of WTC Group, which has two West Coast container
terminals, including this one in Delta, B.C.

Backhaul gets the heave-ho in red-hot shipping container market

Container shipping in a mess, not expected to restore itself at least until 2022

Reading Time: 4 minutes The shipping container mess created by the pandemic will likely last until at least 2022, says the vice-president of a West Coast container transloading company. “Steamship lines across the globe are all playing catch-up with the import movements from across Asia and North America,” said Jordan Atkins, vice-president of WTC Group in New Westminster, B.C. […] Read more