CNS Canada –– The feed barley market is in the middle of its seasonal slowdown. While demand should pick back up in the New Year, the prices might not have much room to the upside, given ample feed wheat supplies. “If you didn’t look at the calendar, you could still guess it was December,” said […] Read more
Feed barley market quiet, awaiting new year
Ont. barley, oat growers set to vote on GFO membership
Ontario’s Farm Products Marketing Commission will run a vote for the province’s oats and barley growers starting Friday, to decide whether Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) will be the growers’ voice going forward. The commission will conduct a mail-in vote from Friday (Oct. 31) to Nov. 17 to see whether oat and barley growers wish […] Read more
The bottom line on grain storage
Reading Time: 2 minutes AARD Release / Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has a pair of new fact sheets on the pros and cons of various grain storage options. “With record crop yields and transport delays of 2013, came greater interest of on-farm storage options,” said Jennifer Stoby, provincial market analyst for agriculture inputs. “Choosing the right grain storage […] Read more
A lesson in (barley) emasculation
Reporter's notebook: Pollination and plant breeding at Lacombe Field Day
Reading Time: 2 minutes The more I learn about plant breeding, the more I feel I missed my true calling in life. And a recent attempt at crossing two barley plants at the Lacombe Field Day only fuelled my secret ambition. I worked with Laura Hoge, a germplasm technician at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, in a machine shed […] Read more
Swath grazing cereals saves half of overwintering costs in beef cattle
With new higher-yielding, higher-quality forage cereals in the works, there has never been a better time for beef cattle producers to try swath grazing cereals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Swath grazing cereals could save producers almost half the cost of overwintering cattle, says a federal forage researcher. “Extended grazing practices like swath grazing, bale grazing, and grazing second-cut grasses in the fall are one of the most effective ways to reduce your overwintering costs of beef cows,” Vern Baron said at the Lacombe Field […] Read more
Study shows no downside to pre-harvest glyphosate on malt barley
Pre-harvest glyphosate applied at the right time and the right rate has no negative impact on malt barley germination — a key concern for maltsters
Reading Time: 2 minutes Malt barley producers battling secondary growth in the fall may soon be able to add glyphosate to their arsenal, thanks to a federal research study underway across the Prairies. These preliminary findings are part of a larger study looking at agronomic practices to improve malt barley quality and yield, said federal research scientist John O’Donovan. […] Read more
Big changes coming to plant breeding
With Ottawa poised to step back from developing market-ready cultivars, wheat and barley breeding is in for big changes
Reading Time: 3 minutes What do Prairie farmers want when it comes to cereal breeding? That’s the question being posed by the Western Grains Research Foundation, the farmer-run conduit for most of western grain farmers’ investment in agricultural research. “Breeding is a long-term process,” Garth Patterson, the foundation’s executive director, said at Winter Cereals Manitoba’s recent annual meeting. “You […] Read more
The market forecast? Grim and grimmer
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s not happy news, but here is the market forecast delivered to FarmTech attendees by Jonathon Driedger, senior analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Canola The rise in American soybean prices has pushed up canola in recent years, but it’s now becoming an anchor as U.S. farmers are expected to plant more soybeans and less corn […] Read more
As storm clouds gather, farmers urged to batten down the hatches
Experts say current grain prices are normal, knowing your cost of production critical, and hope is not a marketing strategy
Reading Time: 5 minutes It was standing room only at every FarmTech market outlook session, and the faces told the tale: anxious-looking producers leaning forward, hanging on every word, searching for rays of hope as the storm clouds roll in. But the message was blunt — there will be no quick bounce-back from the steep fall in grain and […] Read more
Organic cereals demand down
Reading Time: < 1 minute Demand for wheat tends to hold steady even in tough economic times, but not so for what’s organically grown. Demand for organic wheat, durum and barley has flattened since the economic downturn began, Canadian Wheat Board organic marketing manager Patty Rosher told a seminar in Manitoba last month. “Recession is generally good for wheat sales… […] Read more
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