MarketsFarm — Grain movement through the Port of Thunder Bay is reported to be up 27 per cent compared to the previous year halfway through the 2020 shipping season. A total of 5.05 million tonnes of grain were shipped through Thunder Bay as of Aug. 31, port officials said in a release. That compares with […] Read more

Grain traffic at Thunder Bay up 27 per cent on year

COVID-19 means harvest will be ‘especially challenging’
You need all hands on deck, but what if someone shows symptoms of a cold or flu?
Reading Time: 4 minutes This year’s harvest is not going to be a normal one — and farmers and their families need to make adjustments accordingly, says the executive director of AgSafe Alberta. “It’s a significant challenge on farms because we’re looking at a cropping season that could last from now until November, so we have to manage people […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Prices gain strength
MarketsFarm — Harvest activity in the western Canadian Prairies had depressed feed grain prices at the end of August, but prices have recovered slightly. “There’s been a bit of a break in harvest activity,” Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge said. Producers in southern Alberta had been harvesting barley at the end of […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Seasonal harvest pressure weighs on soy, corn
MarketsFarm — Market activity on the Chicago Board of Trade has been characteristic for September, with harvest activity keeping pressure on values. “The trend for September turns to the downside as harvest starts to pick up,” said Steve Georgy of Barrington Commodities at Barrington, Ill. However, next week’s world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Rising canola market watches harvest
MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts remained pointed higher during the week ended Wednesday, hitting some of their best levels in two years. However, its upside may be limited as harvest picks up over the next month. “Canola could go a little higher, but we’re probably pushing upper ranges for now until we have more […] Read more

StatsCan predicts more corn, less soy in 2020 harvest
Fewer acres but higher yields predicted
Statistics Canada’s latest round of expectations for the 2020 harvest calls for more corn and less soy than in 2019, with higher yields offsetting lower planted acres for both crops. In its Production of principal field crops report, using information from July — based on models created using satellite technology — StatsCan on Monday called […] Read more

This harvest, take a bit of time to do things differently
Instead of the usual go-go-go approach, think about how we can all learn to use time more wisely
Reading Time: 3 minutes I watched in horror a video on social media in which a farmer wrapped his preteen son in bale wrap. The child was in the machine! Later that week I coaxed an elderly man holding his electric saw down off a 25-foot extension ladder. At a lavender farm, I encouraged the owner to stop giving […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Grain prices soften into fall
MarketsFarm — Old-crop feed grain prices are converging with new-crop and coming under some seasonal pressure. “As we get closer to new crop, we’ve been seeing the switch to new-crop prices from old-crop,” said Erin Harakal, a senior trader with Agfinity in Lethbridge. Feed barley prices are around $195-$200 per tonne delivered in the Lethbridge […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: How long can canola rally last?
MarketsFarm — Canola on ICE Futures has continued to push higher over the last week largely due to the growing strength in soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade. “We got soyoil at a seven-month high and that’s certainly a supportive factor in continuing to underpin our market,” said Keith Ferley, a trader with RBC […] Read more

No repeat of the ‘harvest from hell,’ says weather forecaster
Reading Time: < 1 minute The fall harvest season will be somewhat wetter than normal but nothing like last year, according to AccuWeather. There is also a low risk for an early freeze, meteorologist and Canada weather expert Brett Anderson said in the company’s fall forecast on Aug. 14. “The latest signals favour most regions having a low risk of […] Read more