Reading Time: < 1 minute It was indeed a dry winter, says the province’s latest soil moisture update, but it also says spring and summer precipitation is what really counts. The March 17 update shows three large areas in the North West, North East, and west part of the Southern regions hit one-in-25-year precipitation lows from mid-September to mid-March. “For […] Read more
Not many snow days this past winter
U.S. grains: Soy, corn up on unfavourable South American weather
USDA lowers ratings for Kansas, Texas wheat crops
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures rose on Tuesday in a turnaround from losses the previous session, as concerns increased about unfavorable weather in crop-growing regions of South America. Traders are watching the effects of heat and dryness in Argentina and rains in Brazil amid worries about potential yield losses. The countries […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat, soy, corn futures rise
Still remain below multi-year peaks
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Monday, led by a 2.2 per cent gain in the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade May soft red winter wheat contract, as traders focused on the condition of the crop after severe cold snaps in key growing regions. “Wheat is receiving some support from cold weather […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Weather wreaks havoc on crops
MarketsFarm — Unusual weather, both in North and South America, has significantly affected commodities this week at the Chicago Board of Trade, according to a broker. A brutal cold snap, extending from northern Canada to the U.S.-Mexico border, has slowed down soybean crushing, halted production at ethanol refineries and raised energy prices in the U.S., […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn turn bearish
Traders keep an eye on South America
MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn futures backed away from multi-year highs during the week ended Wednesday, as investors took profits and weather conditions showed some improvement in South America. “The technicals are a little bearish for both corn and beans,” said Terry Reilly of Futures International in Chicago. The managed money long position in soybeans, […] Read more
Climate change will bring drastic change here, say experts
Alberta has been hit hard by extreme weather in recent years, and a new report says more trouble lies ahead
Reading Time: 4 minutes Albertans can expect to see more extreme weather as climate change reshapes the landscape of the Prairies. “There’s quite a bit of strong scientific evidence that, in a warming climate, you can expect extreme weather events to occur with increased severity, in particular flooding and wildfire,” said Dave Sauchyn, director of the Prairie Adaptation Research […] Read more
Longer-range forecast points to warmer-than-normal winter
MarketsFarm — Warmer-than-normal temperatures are in the long-range forecast across all of Canada for the next three months, according to the latest outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Thursday, calls for a 40 to 70 per cent chance of above-normal temperatures from January through March for the western […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy rally extends into 2021
South America soybean supply fears continue; corn ends mixed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures extended a rally to 6-1/2-year highs before trimming gains on Monday as dry crop weather and disruptions to exports in South America continued to unsettle investors at a time of brisk Chinese demand, analysts said. Wheat closed modestly higher, while corn ended mixed, as both commodities pared gains […] Read more
Alberta weather disasters make Top 10 in 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s an unwelcome honour, but Alberta has two of the top three spots in Environment Canada’s Top 10 weather stories of the year. The June 13 hailstorm in Calgary caused an estimated $1.3 billion in damage – $386 million in smashed or cracked windshields alone along with pummelling “hundreds of thousands of hectares” of grain […] Read more
Half the province on the dry side heading into winter
It’s a long time until spring, but soil moisture reserves are sharply lower compared to a year ago
Reading Time: < 1 minute Much of the province’s farmland is dry, according to the latest soil moisture update from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Soil moisture reserves at freeze-up are highly variable across the province with about 50 per cent of the agricultural areas estimated to have below-average reserves at fall freeze-up,” said the Nov. 8 report. “Large areas that […] Read more
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