Photo: Canstock

Canada’s crush boom to benefit Aussie canola

A significant increase in domestic crush capacity is expected to lower exports and reduce competition for Australia

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is forecasting reduced competition from its main competitor and continued strong demand from its top export market.

Cross-section of an infected canola plant root. Verticillium fungus spreads upward through a plant’s vascular tissues and can create this sort of discolouration, which looks somewhat similar to blackleg.

Keep verticillium stripe in focus this year

Practical Research: Don't let the fungi hitchhike between fields on your equipment -- or anyone else's

Where did such a destructive disease come from? Verticillium stripe was first reported in Manitoba in 2014, some 10 years ago. The fungus, Verticillium longisporum, has now been confirmed present in six provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. In a survey in 2023 across Manitoba, verticillium stripe was found in 38 per […] Read more



Ergot is best recognized in the field as black or dark purple sclerotia sticking out of a floret.

How a worldwide destructive cereal disease problem was solved in Alberta

In the story of ergot in wheat, barley and oats, the answer was simply 'copper'

When I was first hired by Alberta Agriculture as a diagnostic plant pathologist, I was told I would be primarily responsible for barley, oat, wheat and canola diseases. I was also asked to head up the provincial control program for bacterial ring rot of potato (BRR). The BRR program, run in partnership with the federal […] Read more





Photo: Canstock

Canola net short position edges lower

The managed money net short position in canola futures edged lower in the latest reporting period, as fund traders covered some of their bearish bets, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Canola plants in flower in a field north of Lorette, Man. on July 20, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

ICE Weekly: Canola rises sharply

In a show of independent strength, canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) had one of its best weeks this calendar year during the week ended April 24.