Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Forecast, flea beetles complicate canola timing

Dry conditions make ideal seeding time difficult to peg

Drought conditions, and the odds of more to come, have some Prairie canola growers pondering when to roll the dice on seeding, if they want to do more than feed the flea beetles. Small-seeded crops, such as canola, have garnered particular concern from agronomists and producers worried about germination, given power dry topsoil across much […] Read more

CBOT July 2021 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy extend multi-year highs

Tightening global supply picture supportive; CBOT wheat also up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures closed firm on Friday after rocketing to multi-year highs this week on tightening domestic and global supplies, traders said. As stocks from the 2020 harvest dwindle, dryness in Brazil and a U.S. cold spell raised doubts about prospects for the 2021 corn crops in the world’s […] Read more


Not many snow days this past winter

Not many snow days this past winter

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

CBOT May 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

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



CBOT May 2021 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

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


Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

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

This graphic from a new federal report shows the “most damaging extreme weather events” in terms of insured losses in 2018 dollars. However, it does not include last June’s hailstorm in Calgary ($1.3 billion in insured damage) and April’s flooding in Fort McMurray ($562 million in insured damage).

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


(Graphic courtesy Environment and Climate Change Canada)

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

CBOT March 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

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