ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola trending lower

November down below $800

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts moved lower during the week ended Wednesday and could be due for more weakness as seasonal harvest pressure picks up over the next few weeks. “That $800 level has been a very important price support point,” said David Derwin, commodities investment advisor with PI Financial in Winnipeg, pointing to […] Read more

One preparation for Harvest 2022 could be to get a drop pan system to measure combine losses. An electronic-release pan that connects to the underside of the combine is a simple though higher cost option. Another option is to have someone drop a plastic storage bin under the back of the combine as it drives by.

Deliver every canola seed at No. 1 grade

This Canola Council of Canada quiz can help you reach that goal

Everything done to produce a high-quality canola crop can be undone at harvest and in storage. One Canola Council of Canada (CCC) agronomy priority is to deliver every seed at No. 1 grade. That means giving all seeds time to mature, harvesting with minimal losses and storing canola without spoilage. For maximum yield, canola should […] Read more


The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 28, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Canada, China agree to suspend WTO canola dispute

Lifting of canola ban renders case moot

Berlin | Reuters — Canada and China have agreed to suspend proceedings against Chinese measures affecting the importation of Canadian canola seed, according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint on Thursday. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) panel suspended its work as of Tuesday, the complaint said. Work can be suspended at any time […] Read more

ICE Futures November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Crush margins guiding canola demand

MarketsFarm — Enormous canola crush margins will lead to increased demand for the Canadian oilseed, according to MarketsFarm’s director of markets and weather Bruce Burnett. As of Tuesday, the nearby November-October margins were estimated at $215.51 per tonne, while the same position for November-October 2023 now stands at $124.48/tonne. This time last year their margins […] Read more


Photo: getty images

There’s still a place for swathing in canola operations

If you didn’t plant a shatter-tolerant variety, you’re going to have to swath. But swathing can play a crucial role in other cases as well

Straight cutting is no longer merely an option for harvesting canola — it’s become “the” harvest option. In many cases, the one-pass alternative has replaced swathing completely. “The decision to straight cut canola has been increasingly made for farmers in the past eight years,” says Dane Froese, oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “The advent of […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Greater crop production estimated prior to StatCan report

Extended time lag between survey, data's release criticized

MarketsFarm — Analysts are expecting Canadian crop production totals for the 2022-23 marketing year to be substantially higher compared to drought-stricken 2021-22, but still not enough to fully replenish supplies. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will publish its first satellite image model-based yield and production estimates for principal field crops on Monday. Traders and analysts are interested […] Read more


ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 100-day moving average (green line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Time gap too large in StatCan report

Canola's potential yields shrank in meantime

MarketsFarm — There has been about a one-month gap in between Statistics Canada having gathered its data for next week’s principal crops report and actually releasing the report. That’s something trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg finds irksome. “They’re using computer models of some kind. You would think they could get this out […] Read more

Maintaining and improving soil organic matter is vital to crop production and soil health. I consider the soil micro-organisms much like a feedlot — I have to think about feeding the soil biology.” – Tim Nerbas.

Sask. farmer’s soil health approach results in ‘soil armour’

Farmer Tim Nerbas protects his soil with a layer of organic material he calls “soil armour.” He says that and other conservation farming practices to improve soil health on his farm may take time — but it’s worth the wait

Northwest Saskatchewan farmer Tim Nerbas knows if he does the best job of managing crop production above ground, it is probably providing the most benefit to all activity going on below ground. He doesn’t test to measure the amount of organic matter in the soil on his 4,000-acre grain, oilseed and pulse crop operation near […] Read more


ICE November 2022 canola (candlesticks, right column) with 20- and 50-day moving averages (yellow and green lines) and CBOT December 2022 soyoil (black line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola could take a nosedive

'I think (farmers) are undersold'

MarketsFarm — A huge drop in canola prices could be looming, according to analyst Wayne Palmer of Exceed Grain in Winnipeg. Palmer pointed to Prairie farmers and said, “I think they are undersold.” He surmised too many farmers have held off from selling their canola, in hopes of getting a great price the next time […] Read more