(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat at par in Alberta

Demand also seen for heated canola

MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat are running about the same, from where Susanne Leclerc sits at Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. Barley and wheat going into central Alberta were both running at $315 per tonne, she said. “We’re seeing buyer strength gaining coverage for the summer,” she said, but noted trading activity […] Read more

Practical tips for soybean seeding success

Practical tips for soybean seeding success

Four Manitoba producers talk about preferred planting equipment, target plant stands, seeding rates and depths, and more

As another soybean season approaches, we’ve checked in with several producers to get details about their seeding practices — from seeding rates and depths to planting populations and types of planting equipment. The Penners, Elm Creek Calvin Penner and his family in Elm Creek, Man., generally keep soybeans in a four-year rotation. Long ago, when […] Read more


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

ICE weekly outlook: Profit-taking to pressure canola

Market appearing overdone

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts climbed to record highs during the week ended Wednesday as concerns over tightening old-crop supplies provided support. However, the market was looking overdone to the upside and profit-taking came forward to put some pressure on values. “The traders that are still long are playing the game of forcing the […] Read more

The cover crop of fall rye seeded late in 2018 appeared to have a lasting effect to help control weeds as Fensky seeded flax in the spring of 2019.

Regenerative agriculture beats high input costs

Alberta farmers apply a new mindset to crop production

Shorty Fensky says it was largely a matter of farm economic survival as he forgets about the “Y” word and applies crop production practices that focus on profitability for their family run mixed-farming operation in central Alberta. Fensky, who along with his brother Cevin produce cattle and crops at Thorsby, about half an hour southwest […] Read more


Some crops are a little more salt tol­erant — like canola shown above as well as alfalfa, corn, oats and wheat — and you will probably not see sig­nificant yield loss until you hit a conductivity number of about two mS/cm, says Lyle Cowell with Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Crops and saline soils

Plant something, but choose carefully

When it comes to planting most annual cash crops on saline land, Lyle Cowell does not mince words: stop. “When a cattle farm has a cow that is no longer productive, that cattle farmer will not continue to try to breed that cow. It will be culled,” says the agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions in […] Read more

NDVI image of canola variety trials.

Crop advisor casebook: NDVI map conflicts with eye test

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 16, 2020 issue of Grainews

It is routine procedure at our office to monitor NDVI satellite images of our canola variety trials using digital ag software. This helps us to react quickly to any problems as well as take note of any differences that may arise between trial treatments over the course of the season. One day in mid-July last […] Read more


Les Henry: Harvest, not crops with a combine but information online

Les Henry: Harvest, not crops with a combine but information online

Hopefully this “old stuff” will prevent folks from rediscovering the moon

This is a bit of a different theme. It is all about harvesting information that could be useful in planning and executing farm operations on the Canadian Prairies. The title, “Harvest,” comes from our very own University of Saskatchewan Library research archive, and the wealth of information that can be obtained with a few mouse […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola stocks to tighten below a million tonnes, AAFC says

MarketsFarm — Canadian canola ending stocks in both the current 2020-21 marketing year and in 2021-22 are forecast to tighten below a million tonnes, according to updated supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The tight stocks were largely tied to expectations for increased domestic usage, with projected canola exports left unchanged from the January […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Funds add to net longs in canola, U.S. futures

MarketsFarm — The large managed-money net long positions in soybean, corn and canola futures increased during the week ended Tuesday, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Managed money fund traders were holding a net long position in ICE Futures canola of 43,967 contracts as […] Read more