(Dave Bedard photo)

Smaller crops likely in StatsCan survey-based report

MarketsFarm — Mindful of the summer drought conditions that seriously cut into crop production across the Prairies, average trade estimates call for downward revisions to Statistics Canada’s already-small forecasts for most crops when the it releases its first survey-based estimates of the marketing year on Friday. While prior reports, in September and August, were compiled […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC lowers canola export forecast

Domestic canola usage raised; other crops largely unchanged

MarketsFarm — Canadian canola exports during the 2021-22 marketing year are forecast to be smaller than earlier projections, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) reported late Friday. Domestic usage, however, was raised in the report, keeping ending stocks of the crop steady with the October forecast. Total Canadian canola exports in 2021-22 are now forecast at […] Read more


Ergot in a rye crop

A closer look at ergot

Get your soils tested for copper levels if you get ergot in wheat, barley or oats, and if crops lodge easily and the grain is poor quality

Let’s get this story on track once and for all. Ergot, as we know it in Canada, is a fungal infection of cereal grains and grasses. The word ergot is derived from the French word argot, meaning a spur. Ergots form within grain heads and displace the developing seed or grain. Ergot size may depend […] Read more

New cereal varieties for 2022

New cereal varieties for 2022

Twenty-one new options for farmers in Western Canada

There are lots of new choices for cereal growers in Western Canada this winter. Twenty-one wheat, barley and oat varieties are coming to market for next year, with many of them featuring improved resistance to fusarium and rust diseases. Please note, the following list includes only brand new releases for 2022. Alliance Seed Oats: CDC […] Read more



While field crops are being combined, James helps his mother harvest the last of the corn from the garden.

Harvest has a few ups and downs

If weather held, combining would be done by late September

September turned out to be windy with a bit of rain here and there. From September 1 to 5, we had a good run on harvest. In the mornings we would unload the trucks from the night before, service the machines and tend to any minor issues. Joseph, James and I would also usually get […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Feds tighten forecast for wheat carryout

MarketsFarm — Canadian wheat carryout for the 2021-22 crop year will be even tighter than earlier forecasts, according to updated supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Wednesday. The October report included only minor adjustments for most crops, with the most notable change from September being a 500,000-tonne reduction in projected wheat ending […] Read more

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