Winnipeg | Reuters — Canola crops are rising across the Prairies like bad haircuts, reflecting multiple plantings and growth stages during a spring of frost and dry conditions. The most uneven canola crop in roughly a decade, according to provincial oilseed specialist Murray Hartman at Lacombe, Alta., points to lower yields in the world’s top […] Read more
Patchy canola points to smaller crop, harvest dilemma
Late start expected for Manitoba’s Port of Churchill
CNS Canada — Manitoba’s northern Port of Churchill will start its shipping season later this year, as its operator hopes to lower the cost of maintenance on the railway serving the port. Merv Tweed, president of port and railway operator OmniTrax Canada, said the company expects the first grain vessel will go out sometime in […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: New-crop canola to break $500
CNS Canada — The ICE Futures Canada canola market moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, rebounding after the November contract hit support levels earlier on Monday. With recent drought and frost in Western Canada, canola ending stocks are expected to be very tight at the end of 2015-16, which is supporting prices and could […] Read more
Canola crush margins deteriorating
CNS Canada — Canola crush margins continue to deteriorate in Canada, and will likely get worse before they get better. Canola margins hit some of their worst levels “in three to five years” during Monday’s trading session, according to a trader. While the margins were off those lows by the close, he said the longer-term […] Read more
U.S. trans fat ban creates opportunities for canola
CNS Canada — A move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban artificial trans fats in processed foods within three years will create opportunities for Canada’s canola sector, especially high oleic varieties such as Nexera. Partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), which are the primary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not […] 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
Richardson buying bigger margarine market share
Prairie grain and agrifood firm Richardson International is going long on shortening with a deal for major Canadian margarine firm Golden Gate. Privately-held, Winnipeg-based Richardson is no stranger to the margarine business as the owner of the Canola Harvest brand, having bought Canbra Foods in 1999 and Innovative Foods in 2011. Owned and operated by […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola mixed after wild week
CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts ended narrowly mixed for the week ended Wednesday, but not before shooting above the $500 per tonne mark amid concerns over persistent dryness across a large portion of Western Canada. “If we don’t get those rains or if they’re disappointing then I think this thing is going […] Read more
Prairie canola reseeding done ‘in a hurry’
CNS Canada — Farmers are reported to have mainly finished reseeding canola fields that were damaged by a frost event in the eastern Prairies in late May. “It happened in a hurry. A lot of producers, retail agronomists and seed companies were working overtime to get it all done. It’s pretty impressive, a lot of […] Read more
Time to test all Man. fields for clubroot, province says
Distribution of clubroot spores across Manitoba now suggests it’s time for more widespread testing to keep the disease in check, the provincial ag department recommends. Since the disease appeared in Manitoba in 2009, fewer than five per cent of the province’s farms have so far been tested for the spores that cause the yield-robbing disease […] Read more