A wheat crop in 2018. Spring wheat production fell in 2021, but not nearly as much as in other difficult growing years.

2021 was a bad crop year, but not 2002 bad

Reading Time: < 1 minute It was the worst year in a generation but production in Alberta was still considerably better than 2002. For example, spring wheat production this year fell to 5.71 million tonnes (according to the latest StatCan estimates). But that’s more than double the 2.59 million tonnes in 2002. On a per-seeded-acre basis, it was 35.9 bushels per […] Read more


A sunflower crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

USDA expects canola, sunflowers elsewhere to offset Canada’s shortfalls

MarketsFarm –– Good canola and rapeseed crops in Australia and a number of other parts of the world along with large world sunflower seed production should help offset Canada’s smaller-than-expected production somewhat, according to the December oil crops outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total global canola/rapeseed production is now forecast by USDA at […] Read more

ICE March 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola futures still well supported

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was showing signs of running into resistance to the upside during the week ended Wednesday, as speculators booked profits on some of their large long positions. The general uptrend, however, remains intact despite the minor correction. While bouts of consolidation were not unexpected, “the trends are still upward […] Read more


Dominic Barton. (Video screengrab from McKinsey.com)

Ambassador to China to leave post after helping free detainees

Canola, 5G access, other issues remain

Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s ambassador to China said on Monday he would soon leave his post after a two-year assignment where he helped secure the freedom of two Canadian detainees despite icy relations between Beijing and Ottawa. Dominic Barton’s departure, which will take effect Dec. 31, leaves a crucial diplomatic post open at a […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola declines, durum drops in new StatsCan estimates

Soybean, oats estimates raised

MarketsFarm — There were very few surprises in Statistics Canada’s latest principal field crop production estimates released Friday — the first in 2021-22 to use a survey of producers. Nevertheless, they quantified just how severe last summer’s drought was in Western Canada. Canola production for the 2021-22 marketing year was estimated to be 12.595 million […] Read more


Canola can look healthy but still be infected with clubroot as agronomy specialist Autumn Barnes demonstrates in this Canola Council of Canada video. That’s why it’s now recommended that farmers only grow resistant varieties (but also scout regularly and don’t use tight rotations).

Taking the path of least resistance opens door to clubroot ‘disaster’

Only use resistant cultivars, says canola council, and back it up with scouting and longer rotations

Reading Time: 4 minutes Canola growers should keep one simple message in mind when choosing their varieties for next year’s growing season: Every acre needs to be clubroot resistant. “What we’re trying to do is really focus on using clubroot resistance as part of a proactive, integrated prevention or management plan for every canola acre,” said Autumn Barnes, agronomy […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Smaller crops likely in StatsCan survey-based report

MarketsFarm — Mindful of the summer drought conditions that seriously cut into crop production across the Prairies, average trade estimates call for downward revisions to Statistics Canada’s already-small forecasts for most crops when the it releases its first survey-based estimates of the marketing year on Friday. While prior reports, in September and August, were compiled […] Read more

ICE January 2022 canola (candlesticks) with March 2022 (green line) and November 2022 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola market strong but choppy

MarketsFarm — Nearby ICE Futures canola contracts climbed to fresh highs during the week ended Wednesday, while= deferred months moved lower. The new-crop November 2022 contract had overshot to the upside and was due for a correction, said Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg. Any weakness would likely be met by commercial buying, […] Read more