MarketsFarm — This St. Patrick’s Day, it’s not easy being green if you’re a pea. Having reached price parity less than two months ago, Canadian yellow peas are now trading at a premium. According to Prairie Ag Hotwire data from Wednesday, high-delivered bids for yellow peas are now priced at $11.25 per bushel, $4.16 (59 […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Yellow pea demand continues to rise

Baltic Dry Index tops 2,000 points
MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have moved steadily higher over the past month, nearing some of their highest levels of the past year. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved higher most of the past month, settling above 2,000 points for the first time in five months on Tuesday, […] Read more

Richardson to upgrade western Manitoba elevator
High-throughput to replace wooden crib structure at Swan River
Prairie grain handler Richardson Pioneer plans to start work this spring on a new high-throughput elevator “effectively replacing” its Swan River Valley unit in northwestern Manitoba. The Winnipeg company’s current site, on Canadian National Railway (CN) track about six kilometres north of the town of Swan River, is anchored by a wooden crib workhouse and […] Read more

Port of Churchill moves to 100 per cent local ownership
Corporate partners step out of owner group
MarketsFarm — The Port of Churchill is undergoing an ownership transition that will see its OneNorth community and Indigenous partners assume 100 per cent ownership of the Hudson Bay port and the rail line connecting it to northwestern Manitoba. The Churchill Marine Tank Farm and associated assets are also part of the deal, according to […] Read more

U.N. counts cost of ‘man-made’ famines
US$400 for a plate of rice and beans?
New York | Reuters — Nearly 30 years ago a malnourished two-year-old girl died in front of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a refugee camp in northern Uganda. Two days ago U.N. food chief David Beasley met a starving five-month-old girl at a hospital in Yemen — she died on Thursday. […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Pulse Canada CEO retiring
MarketsFarm — After nearly 24 years at the helm of Pulse Canada, Gordon Bacon is retiring as the organization’s chief executive officer. Bacon was Pulse Canada’s first hire and has been its CEO since its inception. “It sounds like a story, but on my first day on the job, I went out and bought a […] Read more

Carbon tax rebate on grain drying fuels coming
Jim Carr reiterates Bibeau's pledge from last week
Farmers can expect a rebate on carbon taxes paid on fuels used to dry grain, Jim Carr, the federal cabinet’s special representative for the Prairies, told the Canadian Crops Virtual Convention on Tuesday. However, he didn’t provide any details. “There is promising news on this front,” Carr told the meeting, hosted by the Canola Council […] Read more

Farmers Edge launches IPO
Digital ag firm makes first public share offering to big demand
Manitoba’s best-known digital agriculture firm is now a publicly-traded company. Farmers Edge, founded in 2005 in Pilot Mound, Man. by agronomists Wade Barnes and Curtis MacKinnon, has carved out a niche using field-centric data, artificial intelligence and its FarmCommand data management platform. CEO Wade Barnes called it an exciting day during an online press conference […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Turkey’s record-level lentil imports expected to decrease
Country's domestic acreage expected up in 2021
MarketsFarm — Canadian lentil exports to Turkey reached unprecedented numbers in 2020. According to Statistics Canada data, Turkey imported 534,160 tonnes worth $355 million during the calendar year, making it the second-largest buyer of Canadian lentils behind India. Last year’s total nearly equalled the amount of lentils Canada exported to Turkey over the previous three […] Read more

Successful hunt for ‘P’ gene to pay dividends for bean growers
Darkening pinto bean problem solved by gene discovery, which benefits breeders and farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Can one small gene really affect an entire crop or does it amount to only a hill of beans? It does matter if we’re talking about pinto beans. “Most beans keep the same look after growers harvest and store them,” said Sangeeta Dhaubhadel, a research scientist at the London Research and Development Centre. “With pinto […] Read more