File photo of South African malting barley. (Sunshine Seeds/iStock/Getty Images)

South Africa’s barley growers face bleak outlook on alcohol ban

Ban reinstated against COVID-19 surge

Johannesburg | Reuters — South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. The government in December enforced its third ban […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Buyers’ thoughts turn to April-June

MarketsFarm — Attention on feed grains is shifting away from February-March and focusing on the April-June period, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader at Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. Their buyers have February-March pretty much covered, she said. Demand continues to be driven by exports to China, she added, with Prairie feedlots required to keep […] Read more


(File photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Offshore demand still lifting Prairie barley

MarketsFarm — Solid offshore demand for Canadian barley remains the key driver in the domestic feed market, keeping prices high. “It’s certainly not driven by southern Alberta, it’s driven by Vancouver and the export business,” said Allen Pirness, of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, on the continued strength in barley bids. Typically, arbitrage opportunities would […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids track rally in U.S. futures

Loonie up by a third of a cent on the week

MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada climbed higher during the week ended Thursday, as a rally in U.S. futures more than countered any bearish influence from a rising Canadian dollar. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by $11.50-$13 per tonne, according to price quotes from […] Read more


A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley market’s eye on exports, corn prices

MarketsFarm — Strong export demand for Canadian barley and rising corn prices in the U.S. are expected to continue to keep feed prices well supported in Western Canada. “Feed grains are being squeezed by lower imports of U.S. corn into Western Canada,” analyst Chuck Penner of Leftfield Commodity Research said in a presentation Tuesday for […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices very likely to increase

Increases seen tied to rising U.S. corn

MarketsFarm — Two Alberta traders believe strong feed grain prices will continue to push higher over the next week of January, with much of the upswing tied to the rise in corn prices in the U.S. “As corn edges higher, becoming the preferred direct replacement to barley, your barley floor comes up and wheat starts […] Read more


Scenes like this one from last year’s Prairie Cereals Summit used to be normal but with in-person meetings cancelled because of the pandemic, discussions on merging Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley have been drawn out.

Cereal groups’ amalgamation talks slowed by pandemic

Alberta Barley and Alberta Wheat aiming to wrap up review of merger proposal in coming year

Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s no marriage proposal yet, but Alberta Barley and Alberta Wheat want to get moving on what has become a longer-than-expected process on whether to amalgamate or not. “We’re just in the beginning stage of where it will go, and the timeline and how to communicate,” Dave Bishop, immediate past chair of the Alberta Barley […] Read more

Sawyer new Alberta Barley chair

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tara Sawyer is the new chair of Alberta Barley, succeeding Dave Bishop. The Acme-area producer is serving her second year as a director-at-large while Wade McAllister of Innisfail starts his second year as vice-chair. “Our organization has made significant strides in the last year, including the finalization of two new barley-breeding agreements that will ensure […] Read more


‘Genomic atlas’ a boon for wheat breeders

‘Genomic atlas’ a boon for wheat breeders

Reading Time: < 1 minute An international team of nearly 100 researchers led by the University of Saskatchewan has sequenced the genomes for 15 wheat varieties. “By having many complete gene assemblies available, we can now help solve the huge puzzle that is the massive wheat pan-genome and usher in a new era for wheat discovery and breeding,” said project […] Read more