Harvest progress in Alberta reached 85 per cent complete as of Oct. 1, progressing 11 points on the week, according to the latest provincial crop report.

Alberta harvest well ahead of five-year average
Progress hits 85 per cent complete

Agrivoltaics are Alberta’s energy silver bullet
It is possible to both foster solar power infrastructure and preserve farmland
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta government recently announced a much-maligned seven-month pause on renewable energy development in the province. While the exact reasons are up for debate, one specific factor has been the desire to investigate ways to make renewable energy, particularly solar, more integrated within the province over the long term. Specifically, there is a real concern […] Read more

Saskatchewan crops a mixed bag
Some cereal crops beyond harvesting with plans to salvage for feed
Marketsfarm – There was a wide mixture of the results in the latest crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture. Parts of the province were hobbled by drought conditions, while other areas received upwards to 40 millimetres of rain following a series of thunderstorms during the week of July 18 to 26. The desiccation of pulse crops […] Read more

Weather outlook not great for Prairie crops
U.S. northern Plains in a similar boat
MarketsFarm — Just when crops across the Canadian Prairies need rain, the outlook to the end of July according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. pointed to conditions getting hotter and drier. “It does not look really good at the moment. We are going to see below normal rainfall and warmer than normal temperatures […] Read more

Ukraine’s farm output could take 20 years to recover, study suggests
Some crop sectors may recover more quickly
Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s agricultural sector could take 20 years or more in parts to recover from the ravages of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to a Kyiv-based research centre. Ukraine is a major global grower and exporter of wheat, corn, sunflower and sunflower oil, but its production has fallen sharply since the war start […] Read more

Net farm income down in 2022 despite high commodity prices: StatCan
Hike in farm fuel, fertilizer and feed costs is the largest in nearly 50 years
Farmers’ realized net income dropped by over eight per cent in 2022 as expenses outpaced the rise in cash receipts, a new Statistics Canada report says. Realized net income is the difference between cash receipts and operating expenses, minus depreciation and plus income in kind. When cannabis is included, realized net income dropped by nearly […] Read more

AAFC projecting canola ending stocks to tighten
New-crop wheat ending stocks figure boosted
MarketsFarm — Canadian canola ending stocks in both the current marketing year and upcoming 2023-24 season will be tighter than earlier estimates, according to supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on Tuesday. Factoring in Statistics Canada’s latest acreage estimates and its data for stocks as of March 31 — figures both released in […] Read more

Green light for gene editing heralds new age in farming
New guidance from Ottawa puts gene-edited varieties on par with their conventionally bred cousins
Reading Time: 4 minutes In what many believe will be a turning point for agriculture here, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has legalized the growth and marketing of crop varieties developed with gene editing. That has fired up Jason Lenz’s imagination about the technology’s impact on food waste and food security — and also on flea beetles. “Food security […] Read more

Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar
Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding
Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection […] Read more

Record winter crop production expected for Australia
Summer crop production seen down on year
MarketsFarm — Australia will see its highest-ever winter crop production thanks to record wheat and canola harvests, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) released Monday. Winter crop production in Australia is estimated at 67.6 million tonnes, up 8.4 per cent from ABARES’ crop […] Read more