It’s been an average year for rainfall in agricultural Western Canada so far this year — or at least that’s what you might conclude from looking at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s “Drought Watch” map showing precipitation since April 1. But average doesn’t count when most of the rain comes in just a few hours, which […] Read more
McMillan: Localized downpours plague parts of Prairies
McMillan: Russia, Ukraine begin winter wheat, barley harvests
The initial harvests of winter barley and winter wheat have begun across southern Russia and Ukraine and are close to two weeks ahead of normal, encouraged by recent hot and dry weather. Multiple agencies anticipate exports from both countries to rebound following last year’s drought. In Ukraine, barley production is forecast to remain similar to […] Read more
McMillan: USDA area estimates surprise trade
The U.S. Department of Agriculture surprised some analysts Wednesday by leaving seeded area estimates unchanged for all U.S. crops. Before the report, a poll of grain analysts by Reuters found expectations were for corn acres to drop 1.5 million acres and soybean acres to rise 700,000 due to seeding difficulties this spring. Over the past […] Read more
Bright colour boosts durum sales
Reading Time: 2 minutes High quality continues to give Canadian durum wheat an advantage in Morocco, but it has tough competition for other types of wheat, says a senior Moroccan grain trade official. Mr. Abdellatif Izem, director of National Federation of Millers of Morocco, was in Winnipeg last month as part of a North African group attending a durum-milling […] Read more
McMillan: India’s pulse crops await delayed monsoon
A top market for Canadian pulse crops and oilseeds now expects to wait a few extra days for the rains on which its own pulse and oilseed crops rely heavily. India’s government meteorological department announced Thursday that conditions were favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon in the state of Kerala by Tuesday (June […] Read more
McMillan: Southern Alta. winter wheat prevails
Winter wheat crops are reported thriving across Alberta, contrasting multiple reports of challenges in the eastern Prairies. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives reported Monday that reseeding of winter wheat is occurring throughout the province due to poor plant stands. The Saskatchewan government reported Thursday that some winter wheat fields in that province’s southeast are […] Read more
Cutting alfalfa an early line of defense against weevil
It may be a small pest, but alfalfa weevil has been making a big impact across Western Canada and may still be running below some forage producers’ radar. The main feeding period for the pest runs from mid-June to mid-July — making it a primary concern for first-cut alfalfa in areas where the pest is […] Read more
McMillan: U.S. farmers plant corn at breakneck pace
Warmer temperatures and dry skies across growing areas of the U.S. have allowed farmers to make huge gains in seeding activities — although the haste to plant may not necessarily produce the best crop. Across the U.S., farmers raced to get crops sown after a slow start to the 2013 season. The changing weather was […] Read more
McMillan: U.S. drought area down, but very dry areas drier
Total U.S. farmland under drought edged lower over the week ending May 21, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Thursday update. During that week, the area ranked as having no drought impact at all moved from 38.3 to 39.1 per cent, as a result of heavy rain over the northern Plains and Midwest, according to […] Read more
McMillan: Northern Plains planting grinds to a halt
Planting problems resume for northern U.S. farmers. In what was already a very slow start to seeding, farmers were stopped by rains so heavy that flash flood warnings were issued for southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. The slow-moving weather system brought heavy rains to already-saturated ground. Over the past three days these areas received […] Read more
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