(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan confirms smaller canola acres, more wheat

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers intend to seed more spring wheat and less canola in 2019, according to Statistics Canada survey results released Wednesday. Additional shifts are also likely in subsequent reports, as dry conditions in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan may alter some intentions. Statistics Canada forecast canola area for 2019 at 21.3 million acres, which […] Read more



Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley acreage buoyed despite current prices

MarketsFarm — International demand for Canadian feed barley has been strong thanks to a 2018 growing season drought in Australia that limited exportable supplies. China purchased nearly 950,000 tonnes of Canadian barley in the first seven months of the 2018-19 year, significantly above the five-year average. However, feed markets in general are quite sluggish ahead […] Read more



Whether to go for malt or for feed is “a question a lot of farmers are asking themselves,” says the markets manager for Alberta Barley.

It’s not glamorous, but feed barley is a bright spot

Demand has shot up over the past year but there’s a caveat — China has been the big buyer

Reading Time: 4 minutes Barley growers will have a tough choice this spring: Target an oversaturated malt market or go for the red-hot one — feed barley. “It’s got to be a question a lot of farmers are asking themselves, especially if you’re in a region where feed and malt prices have been about the same,” said Geoff Backman, […] Read more

Four tips for better barley production

Four tips for better barley production

Four tips to better barley production Whether or not you’re using variable rate technology in your malting barley crop, it is important to use due care and attention when establishing the cereal crop, say two long-time Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers. John O’Donovan, now retired malting barley agronomist ,and Kelly Turkington, a plant pathologist with[...]
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CME April 2019 live cattle, with August 2019 live cattle in brown. (Barchart)

Klassen: Feeder market holds value

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged compared to seven days earlier. Buying interest for yearlings was somewhat stronger while calves in the eastern Prairie regions were softer. Moderate temperatures are in the seven-day forecast for most of Western Canada, so the risk discount due to adverse weather has evaporated. Barley jumped an additional[...]
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(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market sends mixed signals

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets were steady to $4 lower while calves were steady to $2 higher. Barley prices have jumped $3-$6 per tonne over the past week, with winter conditions hindering off-farm logistics. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $149-$150 last week; however, in Nebraska, fed cattle[...]
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A freighter is loaded with grain from a terminal at Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. (Maxvis/iStock/Getty Images)

Canola exports still sluggish, but grains solid

Canadian canola exports continue to lag behind the year-ago pace, with large supplies in the commercial pipeline, according to the latest weekly data from the Canadian Grain Commission. Canada only exported 69,900 tonnes of canola during the week ended Sunday, well below the 205,500 tonnes that moved the previous week. Total canola exports during the[...]
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