Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

Exports tumble as supplies simply not there

'There's very little to sell'

MarketsFarm — Cereal and oilseed exports out of Canada nosedived in August just as the 2021-22 marketing began, according to the monthly export report from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). At about 2.24 million tonnes, total grain exports were down 38.5 per cent overall compared to those in August 2020. “There’s very little to sell. […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and MGEX December 2021 spring wheat (dark green line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat extends climb on tight U.S. supply

CBOT soy down; corn and oats up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures hit a six-week high on Friday, rallying for a second day in a row on smaller-than-expected stocks and production figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn futures followed wheat higher while soybeans fell to multi-month lows after USDA on Thursday reported larger-than-expected U.S. soy inventories. Chicago Board […] Read more


(OceanFishing/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. spring wheat crop down sharply in 2021

MarketsFarm — Spring wheat production in the United States was down sharply in 2021, according to the latest annual small grains report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total spring wheat production was pegged at 9.01 million tonnes by the government agency, down 44 per cent from the 15.99 million tonnes grown the previous year. […] Read more

ICE November 2021 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Analyst sees canola spike late next month

Movement expected to roll out of November soon

MarketsFarm — As the canola harvest winds down on the Prairies, ICE Futures canola began to climb upward in approaching $900 per tonne, the upper limit of its range. That’s given Winnipeg-based analyst Wayne Palmer of Exceed Grain reason to believe canola will bust through $900 per tonne. “That’s all due to the drought and […] Read more


In both wheat and barley, boron deficiency causes the unfertilized cereal grain flowers to open up just like open pollinated rye. The consequences of deficiencies are failure to set seed, as in canola and wheat, and, in barley, the open, exposed cereal flowers can have very high levels of ergot.

Bring on the boron

Boron deficiency can cause failure to set seed and ergot infection

Over the last few years in the Prairies, there has been something of a resurgence of interest in boron. This micronutrient is critical for normal plant growth, particularly crop maturity, and water balance — and is a key factor in seed set and crop yield. In man and animals, this micronutrient is essential for weight […] Read more

CBOT December 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with December 2021 oats (orange line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat firms on global supply issues

Oats also push corn higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures firmed on Thursday, strengthened by global supply concerns and a firming oat futures market on drought-stricken North American supplies. Corn and soybeans edged higher, supported by wheat and oats. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) added 12 cents to $7.17-3/4 a bushel (all […] Read more


CBOT December 2021 oats (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

CBOT oats climb on supply woes

Prairie drought eats at availability

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade December oats futures climbed their daily maximum of 25 cents per bushel on Wednesday, nearing a 7-1/2 hear high, after drought slashed supplies from top global supplier Canada at a time of robust demand for the grain, traders said. The December oats contract surged 25 cents to […] Read more

File photo of emerging durum south of Griffin, Sask. on May 31, 2019. (Leeann Minogue photo)

BASF warns on seeding choices for drought-hit imi-treated fields

Steer clear of non-Clearfield canola, durum, canary seed in rotations, company says

Updated, Sept. 22 — The maker of Odyssey, Solo and Viper is warning grain growers whose fields were excessively dry in 2021 that those herbicides may not break down soon enough in those soils to allow certain seeding choices in 2022. BASF Canada on Monday issued an “urgent notice to growers” in which the company […] Read more


Weeds exactly like the one shown above were found in Lucas’ corn field after he sprayed 
with Roundup.

Crop advisor casebook: Why is this Manitoba field full of pigweed?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the September 21, 2021 issue of Grainews

Lucas farms near Starbuck, Man., growing corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and canola. I received a call from Lucas at the end of June last year. He suspected he had some herbicide efficacy problems, as he noticed some redroot pigweed was not dying after he sprayed a field of corn with Roundup. “It’s been three weeks […] Read more

A soybean crop at Headingley, Man. on Sept. 2, 2021. StatsCan’s latest estimates project drought-hit Manitoba’s soybean production to drop by 22.2 per cent from 2021, while Canada’s soybean harvest overall is expected down 7.4 per cent on the year. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie crops downgraded in latest StatsCan estimates

Corn, soybean crops upsized from previous report

MarketsFarm — Drought conditions across Canada’s Prairies cut into yields throughout the region in 2021, with production of most of the major crops downgraded by Statistics Canada in updated crop estimates released Tuesday. Using satellite imagery, the government agency now sees total canola production for the 2021-22 crop year at 12.78 million tonnes, which compares […] Read more