Crops
Reading Time: < 1 minute After a decade of strong growth, the number of organic acres dipped slightly in Alberta last year, says a new report. But that was good compared to its next door neighbour, said the report by the Canada Organic Trade Association. “Saskatchewan demonstrated the largest acreage decline, with 119,099 fewer acres, followed by Alberta at 6,214 […] Read more
Organic acres level off in Alberta
Bale grazing is having its moment in the (winter) sun
Here are some things to bear in mind when using bales to extend the grazing season
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many producers have taken steps to extend their grazing period, and bale grazing is proving to be a popular choice. Bales can be purchased or grown on farm and placed strategically in cells or ‘bale pods.’ In some cases, cattle feed on bales directly where they are dropped from the baler, but in most situations, bales […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prices plateauing
MarketsFarm — While prices for feed grains have risen over the last month along with several other commodities, they’ve now declined a little bit, according to Erin Harakal, senior trader with Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta. “For short-term movement like November-December we’ve seen them come off the most compared to the late-January/early-March time frame,” she […] Read more
IGC cuts record-large world grain production outlook slightly
MarketsFarm — World grain production for 2020-21 was revised slightly lower by the International Grains Council in its latest report Thursday, but the group is still anticipating record large supplies overall. Wheat and coarse grains are forecast to total 2.226 million tonnes, which would be down by one million tonnes from the September forecast but […] Read more
Adama to buy control of major Chinese ag chem maker
Tel Aviv | Reuters — Israeli crop protection firm Adama said Thursday it will acquire a majority stake in Jiangsu Huifeng Bio Agriculture’s crop protection plants for about US$175 million. In the first phase, it will buy 50 per cent of Shanghai Dibai Plant Protection, a wholly owned subsidiary of Huifeng focused on the sale […] Read more
Cannabis-infused drinks fizzle on production, distribution challenges
'Actually executing the idea is much more difficult'
Reuters — Investors pinning hopes on cannabis-infused drinks to propel growth of the legal marijuana industry may have to wait a bit longer, as companies struggle to produce and distribute the highly-sought beverages in a profitable way. Nearly 11 months after regulators allowed their sales, very few brands have been able to reach shelves. Canada […] Read more
Bunge lifts outlook as quarterly profit nearly doubles
Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd. raised its 2020 outlook after reporting a 91 per cent jump in adjusted third-quarter profit on Wednesday, as strong soy processing margins and robust demand for soy products boosted its core agribusiness segment. Bunge shares rose almost seven per cent to their highest level in more than a […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola’s top likely in for 2020
MarketsFarm — The shine has officially come off the ICE Futures canola market, with prices dropping well below their multi-year highs during the last week of October. The most active January contract hit an overnight low of $514 per tonne on Wednesday, but managed to settle at $535.60. That compares with the contract high of […] Read more
U.S. grains: Crop prices slide as pandemic concerns rattle markets
Traders await U.S. export sales data Thursday
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures fell on Wednesday as part of a broad sell-off in markets fueled by concerns about the economic impact of a global surge in COVID-19 cases, traders said. Losses in agricultural futures pulled corn prices back from a 14-month high reached on Tuesday and soybean prices down […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Roquette plant now contracting organic yellow peas
Pricing to be at 'sustainable' level for growers
MarketsFarm — Roquette is now contracting for conventional and organic yellow peas for its new processing plant near Portage la Prairie, Man. After construction is finished at the end of 2020, the 200,000-square foot facility will work its way up to processing 125,000 tonnes of yellow peas per year. “We will be receiving peas in […] Read more