Cereal crops in Western Canada will be influenced by climate change in the coming years — but the impact will depend on both the crop and the primary area of Western Canada where it’s grown. Barley and oats are grown primarily in the cooler regions of the Prairies and will benefit from a longer growing […] Read more
Payoffs and pressures for cereals in a changing Prairie climate
Warmer, wetter, longer growing seasons carry risks as well as rewards
Markets continue to push lower
Risk premiums created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have evaporated
Market sentiment remains bearish for most agricultural commodities, including the major crops grown in Western Canada. Prices have been declining in most markets since the recent highs were set at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Markets have gradually adjusted to the news coming from the conflict and has effectively removed […] Read more
Prairie soybean crops stand to benefit in changing climate
Conditions that have curbed soy acres in the West were more market-related than meteorological
Soybeans have been at the vanguard of longer-season crops moving into the Prairie region. The soybean area in Western Canada has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. Manitoba’s soybean acreage increased from zero to over one million acres in the first decade of the 2000s. Manitoba’s soybean acreage continued to increase in the past […] Read more
Canola’s changing climes
Trends in the Prairies’ climate should generally be net good for canola crops, even as pest pressures here adjust accordingly
Canola cropping patterns in the Prairies may have to adapt to climate change in the coming years — but the changes should be relatively positive for production. Canola area continues to be the leader in Western Canada, with a total of 21.9 million acres sown this year according to Statistics Canada. This is over 3.2 […] Read more
Burnett on Markets: Global grain stocks offer false sense of food security
In event of production shortfall, 60 per cent of available stocks would never be available to market
The economic parallels from the COVID-19 epidemic are quickly changing from comparisons to the recent financial crisis in 2008-09 to the Great Depression. My parents and grandparents lived through the Depression and it did have many impacts on their everyday lives. The main symbol of the Depression-era mentality was the two enormous chest freezers in […] Read more
Burnett on Markets: Weather woes span the Prairies
The weather during the last half of March provided some optimism about a normal start to spring. Farmers across the Prairies were preparing equipment, taking delivery of seed and fertilizer and looking forward to getting out into the field. Then the weather in early April dropped significant amounts of rain and snow across northern and […] Read more
Burnett on Markets: Home flour use soars during pandemic
That's led to increased demand for milling wheat -- at least temporarily
It is hard to miss the lack of flour in the grocery aisles lately as consumers stock up on the “essentials.” A number of stores are just rolling out the pallets of flour into the store and they are picked clean by the end of the day. The increased domestic use of flour does not […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
