MarketsFarm — Manitoba has issued its spring thaw forecast of 2020 — with high water levels coming for the Red River. That’s due to significant soil moisture levels left over from the fall and above-normal snow levels in the river’s U.S. watershed. “Our focus is currently on the Red River, where we are expecting a […] Read more
Chances of flooding in Manitoba depend on weather
Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast
MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast […] Read more
CN strike to weigh on railway’s 2019 profit
Reuters — Canadian National Railway on Tuesday cut its adjusted profit growth target for 2019, citing shipment delays from the country’s largest rail strike in a decade that ended last week. Shares in CN, which counts billionaire Bill Gates’ investment firm as its biggest shareholder, fell almost two per cent in morning trading in both […] Read more
Near-normal monsoon expected in India
MarketsFarm — Monsoon rains in India are expected to be near normal in 2019, according to the first long-range forecast of the year from the India Meteorological Department. The southwest monsoon typically runs from June through September. It provides crucial moisture for the country’s agriculture sector, as it accounts for roughly 70 per cent of […] Read more
Canola prices vulnerable after StatsCan report
CNS Canada — The latest acreage report from Statistics Canada failed to surprise most investors in the market, but still could leave canola futures looking overpriced, according to a trader. “It certainly is a negative number,” said Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg, referring to the agency’s estimate for canola. StatsCan’s report on Friday […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat falls; corn, soy firm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Friday, led lower by a sharp decline in MGEX spring wheat as investors liquidated bullish positions following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s forecast for a bigger-than-expected crop in the northern Plains, traders said. The selloff pushed the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat […] Read more
Soggy forecast worries Prairie farmers in race to seed crops
Winnipeg | Reuters — Heavy rain forecast for the soggiest parts of the Prairies this week is likely to further delay seeding in the world’s biggest canola-exporting country, meteorologists say. The rain, forecast to hit Alberta and Saskatchewan on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, would be the latest blow to farmers who could not harvest all […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat fall after USDA report
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell more than two per cent on Wednesday, the most in a month, while soybean and wheat futures also declined on expectations for record-large U.S. harvests and huge grain inventories. At the CBOT, December corn settled down 8-1/2 cents at $3.37 per bushel. November soybeans […] Read more
Prairie crop acres forecast to rise across the board
CNS Canada –– Just about every major crop grown in the Canadian Prairies is forecast to come out a winner in the annual fight for acres this year, with unseeded area the only place where reductions are forecast, according to early estimates. “Most crops are likely to increase this year, just because we’ll get the […] Read more
Alberta’s roller-coaster weather in December
After a cold and snowy start, what does the rest of the winter hold?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Most of you probably know that I don’t live in Alberta, so when I have to talk about Alberta’s weather I depend on the network of weather station data, my knowledge of typical Alberta weather and feedback from you the reader. I have to admit, it can be tough to discuss the weather when you […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
