(Alkestida/iStock/Getty Images)

Durum markets reckon with weather

'There was no wiggle room for a crop problem'

MarketsFarm — The higher temperatures soared and the longer between rains in Western Canada, the lower the yield projections for most crops — and drought-tolerant durum wheat is no exception. With bids already elevated due to a downturn in potential new-crop supply, the price of durum could rise even higher. “There’s not a lot of […] Read more



Prairie barley growers can learn a few lessons on grain drying from Ireland, where the crop generally comes off at 15 to 21.5 per cent moisture, said Drew Sharp, a manager with Boortmart who outlined Irish drying methods in a webinar earlier this year.

Damp Ireland offers some grain drying tips for the dry Prairies

Farmers here can learn a few lessons about drying malt barley from the Emerald Isle

Reading Time: 3 minutes What can malt barley producers on the Prairies learn about grain drying and storage from a country like Ireland, where the climate almost couldn’t be more different? Quite a bit, says an expert familiar with both. The weather is very different but Ireland and the Prairies share some similar challenges, notably dealing with high-moisture malt […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 oats (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

Oat crop across Western Canada ‘not stellar’

MarketsFarm — As with most other crops on the Prairies, conditions are “not stellar” for oats, according to Shawna Mathieson, executive director for the Prairie Oat Growers Association. POGA directors from across the region who participated in a recent board meeting had a rather grim outlook on the coming harvest, she said. “Not a single […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids up with strong gains in U.S. markets

MarketsFarm — Bids spiked for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS), Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR), and durum (CWAD) wheats in Western Canada for the week ended Thursday. Steep increases in U.S. wheat futures supported values, as did a lower Canadian dollar which lost more than a half cent. Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Feed weekly outlook: Heat reducing potential yields, raising prices

MarketsFarm — The hot and dry summer that has enveloped all of Western Canada is already bringing down projected yields for feed grains, creating an inverse effect on prices. “We’re losing the crop here right now with the heat and lack of moisture across the Prairies and the northern Plains of the United States,” said […] Read more


The Italgrani USA durum mill at St. Louis, Missouri. (CNW Group/Richardson International)

Richardson to buy major U.S. durum processor

Italgrani's milling, grain handling assets to go to Winnipeg firm

Agrifood firm Richardson International is set to expand and further diversify its grain processing space with a deal for what’s billed as North America’s single largest durum flour and semolina miller. The Winnipeg company said Thursday it will buy 100 per cent of the shares in Italgrani USA Inc., whose assets include a mill, elevator […] Read more

File photo of an Alberta wheat field. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Feed weekly outlook: Alberta feed prices rising

MarketsFarm — Higher-than-normal temperatures and continued demand for feed have caused prices for Alberta feed barley and feed wheat to increase over the past few weeks. However, that demand has pulled back somewhat. According to Prairie Ag Hotwire data from Wednesday, high-delivered bids for Alberta feed barley were at $7.84 per bushel, 48 cents higher […] Read more