“It just makes tracking your inventory and your contracts a lot easier... I don’t have to spend days on the computer entering contracts and doing spreadsheets.” – Sean Edwards.

New tool for grain marketing at your fingertips

Combyne marketing app built for grain producers

A new software system developed by a Canadian tech firm promises to make grain marketing easier and more efficient for farmers across the country. Combyne was developed by Alain Goubau and his Ontario-based company, Combyne Ag. It was released to the public in November 2021 and is available for mobile devices and computer desktop use. […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices continue downward

Oats, canola meal also bound for feedlots

MarketsFarm — As colder temperatures descend onto the Prairies, buying activity for feed barley and wheat was just as frigid. “A lot of guys are fairly caught up with purchasing,” said Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Inc. in Lethbridge. “You see the prices of wheat and barley start to trickle down a little bit. Corn’s […] Read more


Alumni of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers program Ian (left) and Karilynn (middle) Marshall of Bowden, Alta., receive the W.R. Motherwell Award from COYF president, Danny Penner (right), at the COYF national award ceremony in November.

Outstanding Young Farmers Awards go to Saskatchewan and Quebec

Organic farming receives national recognition

Cody Straza and Allison Squires say developing an organic mixed farming operation in southern Saskatchewan over the past dozen years was a reflection of their values in terms of creating a sustainable farm operation guided by proper environmental stewardship and social justice principles. Winning a national award recognizing excellence in farm management gave them reassurance […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC issues first look at 2023-24

Oats production expected down significantly on year; wheat, canola up

MarketsFarm — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has released its first crop projections for 2023-24, forecasting a very notable drop in oats. In AAFC’s January supply and demand estimates, released Friday, it cut oat production to 3.611 million tonnes, down almost 31 per cent compared to 2022-23. The department chopped the carryout for oats by […] Read more


Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Brian Beres leads a tour through some of the Farming Smarter plots demonstrating the growth stages of durum seeded after different times in late winter and early spring as part of ultra-early seeding research work.

Get a head start on the season with ultra-early seeding

Seeding cereals in late winter contradicts the belief you can’t seed until the soil warms up, but research shows the crops don’t seem to mind

Getting some of the crop seeded toward the tail end of a western Canadian winter may seem like a whimsical idea, but field research has shown on those slightly warmer days when the snow is gone, ultra-early seeding of a cereal crop becomes a viable option. The concept of ultra-early seeding does come with a […] Read more

CBOT March 2023 oats with 20- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Oats face an uncertain year

Reduced acres expected in 2023

MarketsFarm — When comparing oat prices at the start of 2023 compared to one year ago, they appear to be night and day. Despite modest price increases over the past month, some western Canadian oat bids are less than half of what they were last year. In Alberta, the high-delivered bid for oats as of […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Corn imports still weigh on domestic feed market

MarketsFarm — Ample corn imports from the U.S. continue to keep the western Canadian feed grain market under pressure, with barley bids in Lethbridge trending lower through the early days of 2023. “We started the year with cash barley trading at roughly $450 (per tonne) in Lethbridge, it’s since declined to roughly $435,” said Jim […] Read more



Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Alberta barley bids steady heading into holidays

MarketsFarm — The Lethbridge feed grain market is holding relatively steady heading into the holiday season, with ample imports of corn from the U.S. keeping a lid on prices. Reports out of Alberta’s feedlot alley peg the upper edge of delivered barley bids in the $430-$435 area, with feed wheat seeing similar prices. Feedlots are […] Read more

CBOT March 2023 oats with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Feed weekly outlook: Wheat, barley eschewed for other grains

Oats, corn finding demand as feed

MarketsFarm — Feed wheat and barley prices in Alberta’s feedlot alley are coming down, largely due to the increasing presence of corn imported from the U.S. The high-delivered bid for Alberta feed barley on Wednesday was $9.80 per bushel, 11 cents lower than the previous week and 22 cents lower than one month earlier, according […] Read more