Seasonal movement off the lows of the pea and lentil markets hasn't resulted in much beyond sideways movement, says Chuck Penner, founder of Leftfield Commodity Research, based at Winnipeg, Manitoba. But there are some differences between red and green lentils and yellow and green peas. The challenging harvest weather in Australia is playing a significant... Read More
Category: Western Canada
As we look back on all that has happened in the agricultural commodity markets over the past three years, there's plenty to digest. Depending on where you farm, farmers have felt regret, moments of luck, angst, and joy over decent margins during these turbulent times. The question for me is always, now what? Where do... Read More
Looking south, overseas, and here at home, the beef market looks steady, good, and, well, not bad. For this week's Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, starts with a recap of what's happening in the U.S., where fed cattle held steady again this week. The wholesale market has peaked, likely, after... Read More
You could almost guess Red Deer, Alta., was set to host Agri-Trade just by looking at the forecast: snow, blizzard conditions, followed by a deep freeze is the basic recipe for just about all the major winter agriculture trade shows. Not easily daunted, RealAgriculture field editor Kara Oosterhuis was on location at AgriTrade this week... Read More
Regardless of the preparation and planning that goes into a crop, it’s weather that ultimately turns a struggling crop into a winner, or inhibits a crop from ever reaching its full potential. Jay Whetter, editor of Canola Digest for the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), says this year’s canola yields were dramatically impacted by the... Read More
As we well know, there's a lot that goes in to growing the "perfect" crop. SeedMaster Manufacturing has decided to show they are up to the challenge, creating a contest where a canola grower in Western Canada will win everything essential they need to grow a whole quarter section of canola. Dubbed the "160 Acres... Read More
If you're tired of hearing words such as "unprecedented" and "new normal," you're not alone. That said, over time, what is average or normal or expected does change and evolve. Take commodity prices, for example. Over the very long term, the bottom level resistance for wheat futures at one time was $2/bushel. Eventually, that rose... Read More
It's a busy time of year in Ottawa and around the world for ministers and for the official critics, too. John Barlow, Alberta MP for Foothills, spent time in Paris, France, last week attending the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) minister's meeting. Canada's federal ag minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, chaired the meeting. Now that... Read More
Corn on corn shouldn't be the plan, but when it is, make sure the stalks are baled and returned as manure, says Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson. In this early November episode of Wheat Pete's Word, our host shares insight in to what's causing corn field fires, how much stress tolerance has improved in crop types,... Read More
The ground may freeze and the plants stop growing, but there's no "off season" for good agronomy. Just because the crop is in the bin, doesn't mean we should stop thinking about how to improve production. The way to do that, says Leighton Blashko of BASF, is to think of the 5 Ws of planning…Read More