A strip tiller in action on a Farming Smarter field near Lethbridge, Alta.

Let’s talk strip tillage

An Alberta farmer shares his experiences with the system that provides a middle ground between full till and no till

John Kolk’s farm near Enchant in southern Alberta, like many others in his area, sits on light, sandy loam soil. That can be a problem come planting time when strong chinook winds roll down from the Rockies as they typically do in the spring. Kolk says the combination of hard-blowing winds and sand that’s whipped […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola futures looking for bottom

Crushing pace remains aggressive

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts fell to their lowest levels in three and a half months during the week ended Wednesday, taking some direction from Chicago soyoil as harvest activity winds down across the Prairies. Losses in other markets, including Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed futures, added to the declines in canola. “Everybody […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Managed money fund traders increase bearish canola bets

Funds still net long in CBOT soybeans

MarketsFarm — The managed money net short position in ICE Futures canola grew to its largest level in three and a half months in early October on a combination of long liquidation and new bearish bets going on the books, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola looking for a spark

Recent declines in crude oil, diesel seen as bearish

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market hit its lowest levels in three months on the last trading day of September but has since uncovered some support in the first days of October. Canola “has found a level where it’s stabilized, but there’s not a lot of life right now,” said Ken Ball of PI […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Fund net short position grows in canola

Net long in CBOT soybeans seen declining

MarketsFarm — The managed money net short position in the ICE Futures canola market more than doubled during the week ended Tuesday on a combination of long liquidation and new bearish bets going on the books, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of Sept. […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola ‘due for a bounce’

Weather co-operating, mostly, for Prairie harvesting

MarketsFarm — A month-long decline of ICE Futures canola prices, which saw the oilseed lose $110 per tonne, came to an end and was followed by a bounce-back. While the price of the November canola contract still declined by $10/tonne to $726.10 during the week ended Wednesday, it hit its lowest price since the end […] Read more


On the morning of Dec. 30, the nearby January canola contract apparently hit a new all-time high.  Photo: File

Tightening canola stocks projected, AAFC says

Wheat, barley, oat, pea stocks also projected lower

MarketsFarm –– Canadian canola carryout supplies for the current marketing year will likely end up tighter than earlier expectations, according to updated supply/demand balance sheets from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) that account for recent production and stocks data from Statistics Canada. Canola ending stocks for 2023-24 are now forecast to tighten to only one […] Read more

(Viterra.ca)

Canada books stronger August deliveries of most major grains

Wheat, canola up; barley, durum down

MarketsFarm — Deliveries of most major grains in Canada were higher in August than a year ago, according to Statistics Canada. The federal agency issued its monthly deliveries report on Tuesday, showing total deliveries last month came to 5.103 million tonnes, up nearly 15 per cent from the previous August. Wheat deliveries (excluding durum) tallied […] Read more


(Richardson International video screengrab via YouTube)

Canola crush shows solid start in new crop year

Soybeans see lowest August crush ever

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada on Tuesday reported Canada’s second largest August canola crush on record. The 829,490 tonnes of the oilseed processed last month is only bested by the 830,335 tonnes in August 2020. The July 2023 canola crush set a new all-time record of 961,683 tonnes. Last month’s canola crush was 31 per cent […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Funds flip back to net short in canola

Trade remains net long in soybeans, for now

MarketsFarm — The overall fund position in ICE Futures canola flipped from a net long to a net short during the week ended Tuesday, marking the first net short position in the commodity in just over two months, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As […] Read more