Crops
CNS Canada –– Recent cold temperatures in parts of Western Canada should cause some setbacks for winter wheat, but most of the crop is likely still in decent shape, according to an analyst. Farmers in the three Prairie provinces seeded 665,000 acres of winter wheat in the fall of 2014, with about 565,000 acres surviving […] Read more
Prairie winter wheat set back by cold
Russia may allow food imports from three EU states
Moscow | Reuters –– Russia may allow around 20 firms from Hungary, Cyprus and Greece to return to its market after it orders the lifting of an embargo on food imports from the European Union, Interfax news agency quoted a senior official as saying on Tuesday. Russia banned foods from the 28-nation EU last year […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans fall to contract lows on speedy plantings
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybeans fell to contract lows while corn eased 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, pressured by faster-than-normal spring plantings and overall favourable crop conditions in the U.S. Wheat futures tumbled two per cent at the Chicago Board of Trade, with all three markets reversing from gains in the previous session as […] Read more
Jury still out on Prairie crop damage from Victoria Day weekend
CNS Canada — Cold temperatures across much of Western Canada over the May long weekend may have caused damage to early-emerging crops — but it will take a few more days to determine how many acres will need reseeding. “We have to wait and see, because freeze damage is always sporadic in nature,” said CWB […] Read more
GrainCorp to boost U.S. malt output, target craft beer boom
Sydney | Reuters –– Australian agribusiness GrainCorp plans to nearly double output capacity at one its U.S. malt plants, to capitalize on soaring North American demand for craft beer. Typically produced by small, local brewers, the popularity of craft beers has grown rapidly in recent years in the U.S. as drinkers seek new tastes, with […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat jumps on more U.S. rains, frost fears
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat surged more than two per cent to the highest level in a month on Monday as forecasts for rains in the U.S. Plains revived concerns about crop damage and encouraged buying among investors with large short positions. Worries that frost and cold temperatures could reduce yields in the northern […] Read more
Ottawa’s new GHG goal eyes fertilizer, chem sectors
The federal government’s new target, to cut the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels in the next 15 years, will involve new regulations on fertilizer and chemical companies’ output. Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the government’s new target and general plans on Friday in Winnipeg, but hasn’t yet specified […] Read more
Study finds Manitoba ready for soy crushing
The rise of soybeans as a cash crop in and around Manitoba, and the availability of hogs to dine on soy meal, could support Western Canada’s first-ever soybean crushing plant, a new study finds. The feasibility study, run by Winnipeg-based Mercantile Venture Consulting and backed by the federal and Manitoba governments, shows a Manitoba crushing […] Read more
Alta. beet growers, Rogers Sugar reach four-year deal
Sugar beet growers in Alberta will have a growing season in 2015 after all, having reached a last-minute deal with Canada’s lone sugar beet processor. Montreal-based Rogers Sugar on Wednesday announced its Lantic subsidiary has reached a new four-year agreement with the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers Association to supply the company’s beet sugar plant at […] Read more
Drought prompts cuts to farm irrigation in California, Oregon
Portland | Reuters –– The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will cut the amount of federal irrigation water available to farmers along the Oregon-California border to half the annual norm as it grapples with a fourth year of regional drought, the agency said on Friday. Though the roughly 1,200 affected farms in the Klamath Basin had […] Read more