With rain forecast for most of the United States Corn Belt, the prospects for larger than expected soybean and corn crops is pretty much certain, according to broker Scott Capinegro of AgMarket Inc. in Chicago.
CBOT Weekly: Conditions for U.S. soybeans, corn ‘just ideal’
Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways contend the measure creates inefficiencies, but farm groups say the opposite is true
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called “extended interswitching.” The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with, as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more
Silence follows in wake of ouster of farm groups’ senior managers
Tom Steve was highly regarded in the grain sector but was abruptly dismissed with no reasons given
Reading Time: 3 minutes The board directors of Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley are staying mum on why they abruptly ousted Tom Steve, their highly regarded general manager. Steve, chief operating officer Syeda Khurram and FarmCash program manager Hasan Kazmi were all dismissed on April 26. The two cereal groups didn’t announce the dismissals, and when the news broke […] Read more
Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; farm groups say the opposite is true
Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called ‘extended interswitching.’ The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with (as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more
Pulse crops struggle to keep up in the crop popularity sweepstakes
Peas, lentils and beans cut the fertilizer bill (and emissions) but run a distant fourth in acres
Reading Time: 5 minutes When Alberta Pulse Growers recently announced its new board, it sent a press release to say it would work hard “to achieve the vision of pulses on every farm.” But while many producers grow pulses (at least some of the time), the nitrogen-fixing legumes run far behind canola, wheat and barley in the crop popularity […] Read more
Quebec company aims to boost Alberta’s lamb sector
Meat processing giant says it wants to grow the sector and ensure everyone benefits
Reading Time: 4 minutes The new Quebec owners of the province’s major lamb processing plant are vowing to revitalize the sheep sector in Alberta. “The pie is going to get bigger — and we want everyone to benefit from it,” said Stéphane Beausoleil, an executive of Préval Ag who is now running the former SunGold lamb processing plant in […] Read more
Alberta lamb sector gets boost as Quebec powerhouse moves in
Fast-growing Préval Ag buys troubled Innisfail processing plant and major lamb feedlot
Reading Time: 3 minutes A Quebec company that is an emerging powerhouse in the meat sector has struck a deal to purchase the Alberta lamb processing plant and large feedlot of the defunct North American Lamb Company. “They seem to run a fair-sized conglomerate of businesses related to agriculture and the livestock industry,” said Neil Narfason, an official with […] Read more
Alberta eyes another blockbuster irrigation project
Proposed $1.3-billion project would transform east-central Alberta
Reading Time: 4 minutes The east side of Alberta could see revolutionary change if a $1.3-billion plan to irrigate 108,000 acres in the Special Areas and Municipal District of Acadia moves ahead. “Special Areas has everything it needs to become a highly productive agricultural area – everything except a reliable supply of water,” Jordon Christianson, chair of the Special […] Read more
The price of farmland is defying interest rate hikes – so far
Buyers still bid up land but latest figures don’t reflect full impact of higher lending rates
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite significant interest rate hikes, the price of farmland kept shooting up in the first half of the year. Land prices jumped 5.9 per cent in Alberta in the first six months of 2022, according to the latest data from Farm Credit Canada, and that was smallest rise on the Prairies. Prices were up an […] Read more
Lamb sector roiled by fall of major player
Mounting losses sink company that was going to revolutionize the lamb business
Reading Time: 4 minutes Lamb producers in Alberta are facing a sea of uncertainly after a company that hailed itself as the future of the sector went into creditor protection owing more than $50 million. The two big questions are whether the massive flock owned by North American Lamb Company (NALCO) will flood the market and send prices into […] Read more
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