After over a decade of development and digging, one of the world’s biggest mining and metals companies has granted its Saskatchewan potash mining project the go-ahead to completion and full production. Australian-British mining firm BHP announced Tuesday its board has approved its potash mine about 60 km southeast of Humboldt, near Jansen, Sask., for another […] Read more
BHP approves Saskatchewan potash project’s completion
Major miner expects to produce about 4.4 million tonnes of fertilizer per year
Pulse weekly outlook: Pulse trade with India strong, but flawed
MarketsFarm — India remains as the largest international buyer of Canadian lentils, despite factors affecting trade between the two countries. While Western Canada deals with drought conditions which have likely lowered this year’s lentil crop, the Indian government’s restrictions on imports have threatened to hinder Canadian exports. “Despite tariffs and technical measures in place that […] Read more
Sask. Crop Report: Half of winter wheat, fall rye crops harvested
MarketsFarm – While a few scattered showers across Saskatchewan delayed some of the harvest, the hot and dry weather has allowed farmers to make more progress than last year. Seven per cent of the province’s crop has been combined and six per cent is ready to straight combine, according to the Province of Saskatchewan’s weekly […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Harvesting begins for Alberta pulses
MarketsFarm – After a hot and dry summer which scorched all of Western Canada, pulses are ready to come off the fields in Alberta. “The south is going pretty strong. South of Calgary is already pretty much done on peas. Quite a bit of lentils would be done already, too,” said Alberta Pulse Growers chair […] Read more
Drought-battered producers facing another crisis — contract penalties
Deadly combo of crop failures and sky-high prices leave some facing huge penalties on unfulfilled contracts
Reading Time: 5 minutes The drought is squeezing producers from all sides, with many facing another calamity — not having enough crop to fulfil their grain contracts. “There are issues because the drought is so widespread,” said Jason Saunders, vice-chair of Alberta Wheat and a dryland farmer from near Taber. “There was aggressive forward contracting on canola and old-crop […] Read more
CN, CP railways break grain shipping records
MarketsFarm – It was a record-breaking year for both of Canada’s two major freight railways. In separate news releases to the public on August 3, both Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) reported a record amount of grain moved during the 2020-21 crop year. For the first time ever, both […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Healthy demand for heat-stricken Manitoba pulses
MarketsFarm – If Manitoba’s pea harvest is any indication, the province’s pulse crops will be largely deteriorated by the hot and dry weather affecting all of Western Canada, according to Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers executive director Daryl Domitruk. “It has affected (pulses) like it has affected most of the other crops, in that severe […] Read more
Alberta crop insurance payout could exceed $1 billion
It’s too early for accurate estimates but the scale of the disaster is massive, says provincial crop insurer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Crop insurance payouts could top a billion dollars for the devastating drought that has hit much of Alberta. “We collected about $600 million in premiums this year, so we’re looking potentially at payments twice that amount,” said Darryl Kay, CEO of Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC.) “It’s really early yet, so it’s hard to speculate […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices seen as too high, sales stalling
'Destination markets are not in desperation mode'
MarketsFarm — Prices for pulses, such as lentils for example, have been approaching the point where they are good for growers but getting too expensive for the destination markets, according to Marcos Mosnaim of Mercaris Commodities. “It’s a kind of an interesting scenario, where you see farmers not selling and prices to farmers keep going […] Read more
Rail upgrades planned for P+H elevator
Eastern Saskatchewan elevator's rail spot expanding
Winnipeg grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker plans to boost throughput at one of its eastern Saskatchewan elevators with upgrades to its rail car loading systems. Privately-held P+H said Thursday it plans to expand to a 100-car spot, up from 50, at its elevator at Quill Lake, Sask., about 60 km east of Humboldt. Work on […] Read more