Sir Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Over the last year or so, several significant changes and developments have occurred in the Canadian cereals sector – including most recently, the announcement by the federal government that the Canadian Grains Commission will move... Read More
Category: Crop Production
The 2012 growing season was a positive one for soybean growers in all parts of the Prairies. It was also very hot and dry in many areas at harvest. As such, the crop came off dry to very dry. Soybeans are prone to cracking under these conditions, and the cracks aren't always visible. The issue... Read More
Reports of yellowed and even purple-tipped winter wheat are rolling in from across southern Ontario. Farmers are, understandably, concerned about what's going on with the crop and how this may impact next year's yield. Never fear, as Peter Johnson, OMAFRA wheat specialist, took the time to sit down with RealAgriculture.com and explain exactly what's happening... Read More
After years of work and consultation, the federal government yesterday announced the Fair Rail Freight Service Act bill which includes an arbitration process when negotiations breakdown between shippers and rail companies and hefty fines levied against railways should they violate agreements. The amendment to the Transportation Act is an important milestone in balancing the commercial... Read More
The standard 90 pounds of nitrogen on wheat in Ontario just doesn't cut it anymore. That's according to OMAFRA Wheat Specialist Peter Johnson. Johnson noted that some of the top growers in Ontario are using anywhere from 130 to 150 lb of nitrogen applied to ground that doesn't have residual nitrogen from a cover crop.... Read More
CWB has launched two new pools for farmers, including one that enables each farmer to choose their own price based on futures values, according to a company press release. The Winter Pool will operate like traditional pools, and features a six-month pooling period. The Futures Choice Winter Pool includes the option for farmers to choose... Read More
An early spring with warm conditions, decent moisture at planting and high-yield-potential genetics make for a best-case scenario in the face of unfavourable weather conditions. The 2012 corn crop generally started out with excellent root structure and good moisture before Mother Nature turned off the top and cranked the heat. In spite of the dry... Read More
A few key environmental and agronomic factors converged in the 2012 crop that led to some surprising and even outstanding soybean yields. Of course, there were areas that suffered from dry weather, but there were also some areas that achieved yields in the 80 bushel range — some small plots even topped 100 bushels an... Read More
The final Statistics Canada numbers are tallied for the 2012 crop and while there are few surprises in the report over the last version, it should be noted that corn and soybeans both had banner years. Grain corn is estimated at a record 13.1 million tonnes, up 15.0% from 2011. In Ontario, Stats Can estimates... Read More
CWB announced today the dispatch of its first shipload of canola from the Port of Prince Rupert. The cargo of 42,000 tonnes of Prairie canola is now travelling aboard the vessel Tai Health, enroute to customers in Japan, according to the company's press release. Changes to the western Canadian grain-marketing system, implemented by the federal... Read More