Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa has started up its Livestock Tax Deferral months ahead of normal to give producers who have to sell cattle a better economic route to rebuilding their herds next year. Alberta Beef Producers and other cattle groups had requested the earlier-than-usual start to the program. Some also want an expansion of the deferral provision beyond just […] Read more
Livestock tax deferral program kicks in early
Program is aimed at helping producers rebuild their herds
Drought-battered producers facing another crisis — contract penalties
Deadly combo of crop failures and sky-high prices leave some facing huge penalties on unfulfilled contracts
Reading Time: 5 minutes The drought is squeezing producers from all sides, with many facing another calamity — not having enough crop to fulfil their grain contracts. “There are issues because the drought is so widespread,” said Jason Saunders, vice-chair of Alberta Wheat and a dryland farmer from near Taber. “There was aggressive forward contracting on canola and old-crop […] Read more
Help for those short on water
Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial Water Pumping Program helps livestock producers needing to secure adequate water supplies. For a nominal fee, a producer (or group) can rent pipe and pumping equipment to fill dugouts or other catch basins from nearby water sources. Any producer experiencing water shortages for livestock use has priority for equipment use, which will be […] Read more
Crop quality has been a steep, fast downward plunge
Reading Time: 2 minutes The crop report from Alberta Agriculture in late July was — not surprisingly — dismal. But the speed of the deterioration of crop quality was nevertheless noteworthy. “Only 20 per cent of the annual crops (are) good or excellent,” it said in its end-of-July report. “This represents a 17-point drop in the last two weeks […] Read more
Millers, bakers fret as drought withers North America’s spring wheat
Reuters – Millers and bakers are draining wheat reserves and paying more for spring wheat used in baking, as drought shrivels crops across the Canadian Prairies and northern U.S. Plains that produce more than half of the world’s supply. U.S. and Canadian farmers are bracing for a sharply smaller spring wheat harvest due to the […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Volatility expected in canola markets
MarketsFarm – The ICE Futures canola market saw some large price moves during the week ended Aug. 4, hitting their lowest levels in a month as investors booked profits before recovering to hold relatively range-bound overall. More choppiness is expected over the next few weeks, as the market waits to get a better handle on […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Reduced yields starting to become a reality
MarketsFarm – As old crop stocks of feed barley and feed wheat continue to dwindle, the realization of reduced yields is now supporting bids for new crop. “Down here, there are a few guys that are starting to pull off some barley here in the next little bit. You’re going to find that the barley […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola range-bound, awaiting harvest
MarketsFarm – ICE Futures canola contracts held within a relatively narrow range during the week ended July 28, as traders wait to get a better handle on the size of the Canadian crop. “We’re just waiting to see as we get into harvest what the crop size and crop yields look like,” said Jamie Wilton, […] Read more
Southern, eastern North Dakota spring wheat yields hurt by drought
Mandan, N.D. | Reuters – Spring wheat yields in southern and east central North Dakota are well below average as a severe drought slashed production potential in the country’s top producing state, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Tuesday. Crop scouts calculated an average spring wheat yield at 29.5 bushels per acre (bpa) […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Healthy demand for heat-stricken Manitoba pulses
MarketsFarm – If Manitoba’s pea harvest is any indication, the province’s pulse crops will be largely deteriorated by the hot and dry weather affecting all of Western Canada, according to Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers executive director Daryl Domitruk. “It has affected (pulses) like it has affected most of the other crops, in that severe […] Read more