MGEX July 2022 spring wheat (candlesticks) with CBOT July 2022 wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Supply worries, weather spur rallies

Market awaits USDA world crop report; rains delay U.S. spring wheat plantings

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures jumped on Wednesday, as traders uneasy about world supplies adjusted positions a day before the release of U.S. crop data. Concerns about poor global crop weather helped support gains, with MGEX spring wheat futures setting contract highs as rains prevent plantings in the […] Read more

A washout on Manitoba PR 240, about 60 km north of the U.S. border, on May 2, 2022. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. spring wheat seeding near standstill

MarketsFarm — A succession of weather events has pretty much brought spring planting in North Dakota and Minnesota to a standstill, according to analyst Tom Lilja of Progressive Ag at Fargo, N.D. The weekly crop progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated nationwide planting of spring wheat at 19 per cent complete […] Read more



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Prairie cash wheat: Red spring falls back, durum rises

U.S. wheat futures down on week

MarketsFarm — Wheat prices on the Prairies during the week ended Thursday incurred moderate losses in Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) while durum (CWAD) pushed upward. Declines in the U.S. wheat complex led the way, with a higher Canadian dollar this week adding more pressure on Prairie wheat prices. […] Read more


wetlands

New calculator estimates the dollar value of Prairie wetlands

The USask tool aims to show that wetlands are worth far more to society than usually thought

Reading Time: 3 minutes A new online tool developed at the University of Saskatchewan will help both policy-makers and producers estimate the value of wetlands across the Prairies. “When we push for wetland conservation, sometimes the language that our leaders and policy-makers understand best is the dollar value,” said researcher Eric Asare, who led the project for the USask […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Bids up on Ukraine projections, poor U.S. winter wheat conditions

U.S. May wheats up on week

MarketsFarm — A sharp reduction of wheat acres in war-torn Ukraine and poor crop conditions in the United States all brought support to wheat bids in Western Canada for the week ended Thursday. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not only posed major difficulties exporting grain out of the country, but will also prevent wheat acres […] Read more


Grain grower Wade McAllister and agronomy specialist Jeremy Boychyn at a Plot2Farm trial on row spacing conducted at McAllister’s farm last year. In a video shot at the farm, Boychyn discusses the pros and cons of wide versus narrow row spacing, which is an optional parameter in a new seeding rate calculator put out by Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley.

Cereal commissions offer new, and different, seeding rate calculator

The calculator targets seeds per square foot, not plants, while a new video looks at row spacing

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley have created a seeding rate calculator that has a significant difference from similar tools — it doesn’t require users to estimate emergence mortality. “Instead of targeting plants/ft2, this calculator targets seeds/ft2,” the cereal commissions say in an intro for the online tool. “Therefore, emergence mortality is not included in the […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Peace talks, USDA report pull on wheat futures

MarketsFarm — While peace prospects in Ukraine brought pressure onto wheat futures early on, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report caused the prices for two major western Canadian wheat varieties to close at different levels for the week ended Thursday. On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), wheat futures declined when talks between Russia and […] Read more


AFSC used this photo when tweeting on social media about its rate announcement for this year. The ominous look mirrors the financial news — premiums up 37 per cent or more, and its once-vaunted reserve fund slashed by $2 billion.

Premiums soar after crop insurer hit by $2.7-billion loss

Higher crop prices are driving a big part of the 37 per cent (or higher) hike, but drought hit hard, too

Reading Time: 4 minutes The cost of annual crop insurance is soaring by an average of more than 37 per cent this year — and many farmers could be facing an even higher bill. “An average 1,500-acre Alberta farm growing a mixture of crops will see increased premium costs of approximately 54 per cent for annual insurance and hail […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat nudges higher, durum dips

MarketsFarm — Wheat prices on the Prairies during the week ended Friday saw moderate gains in Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats while Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) eased slightly. The war in Ukraine continued to play havoc in the markets. After strong increases at the start of the […] Read more