Reading Time: 3 minutes When someone told Roger Bott, he couldn’t grow sunflowers in his part of Alberta, he was determined to try. Eight years on, Bott and wife Bonita — and a lot of residents of Clearwater County — are glad they did. “People are also really enjoying looking at the sunflowers when they’re on the highway,” said […] Read more
Venture into sunflowers proves profitable
The Botts were told that sunflowers weren’t suitable for their farm, but that didn’t stop them
Lower loonie to boost U.S. demand for sunflowers
CNS Canada — Manitoba sunflowers are looking better than they have in recent years, despite minor pest pressure, in one agronomist’s view — and a lower Canadian dollar could be useful for producers looking to sell. Sunflower prices aren’t seeing a lot of movement right now, but demand is good — and with a lower […] Read more
Loan called on Legumex’s U.S. canola crusher
Prairie special crop processor Legumex Walker is weighing its options after major lenders to the company’s U.S. canola crushing arm called their loan. Pacific Coast Canola, a cold-press canola crushing operation at Warden, Wash., about 160 km southwest of Spokane, is 84 per cent owned by TSX-traded, Winnipeg-based Legumex, and 16 per cent owned by commodity […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn rises, soy eases on outlooks for drier weather
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn edged slightly higher while soybeans reversed from earlier gains to turn lower on Thursday as drier weather outlooks for next week were seen as benefiting both crops after record rains in the Midwest in recent months limited yield potential. Corn was in the early phases of its pollination period […] Read more
Sunflowers look good in field, flat in market
CNS Canada — While many Canadian crops are wishing for more rain right now, one expert sees sunflowers, primarily grown in Manitoba, doing relatively fine for moisture. “There’s no weather worries on sunflowers right now. A lot of the acres went in because it was forecasted to be a very dry summer, but it hasn’t […] Read more
U.S. FDA to cut trans fats from foods
Washington/New York | Reuters –– The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday made good on its proposal to effectively ban artificial trans fats from a wide range of foods, from microwave popcorn to frozen pizza, saying they raise the risk of heart disease. Under new FDA regulations, partially hydrogenated oils, which have been shown […] Read more
Sources say BASF mulling potential bid for Syngenta
Reuters — German chemicals group BASF is considering a potential offer for Syngenta, its Swiss rival which has received a C$56 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. BASF is speaking to investment bankers about the possibility of an offer for Syngenta, though it has made no decision and […] Read more
Cutworm, flea beetle pressure piling on Prairie crops
CNS Canada — High levels of cutworms and flea beetles are damaging crops in Western Canada this spring, according to Manitoba’s crop entomologist. Manitoba growers started noticing damage from cutworms this week, said John Gavloski, extension entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in Carman. “They were there in the fields, but they were […] Read more
Russian wheat prices follow global benchmarks higher
Tikhoretsk | Reuters — Russian wheat export prices rose last week following an increase in global benchmarks and concerns over dry and hot weather in the European part of Russia, analysts said. Russia, one of the world’s big wheat exporters, competes with other global suppliers, including France, where Western European wheat prices hit the highest […] Read more
Sunflowers off to good start in Manitoba
CNS Canada — Manitoba’s sunflower crop is off to a good start this year, having largely missed out on any damage from adverse weather over the May long weekend. “We had a good early start (to spring seeding) in the eastern part of the province and things went into some nice warm ground,” said Troy […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
