(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola pointed lower

CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts saw a bit of a corrective bounce on Wednesday but their overall trend remains pointed lower, with the winter highs possibly in for now, according to an analyst. “The technical and the fundamentals are pointing down,” said Errol Anderson of Pro Market Communications in Calgary, pointing to […] Read more

Midge larvae inside a canola floret. Federal researchers have documented a new midge species in Prairie canola that differs significantly from the swede midge it was believed to be. (AAFC photo by Julie Soroka from CanolaWatch.org)

Anonymous midge appears in Prairie canola

Canola crops in northeastern Saskatchewan and east-central Alberta have run up against a potential pest problem so new it doesn’t yet have a name. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the University of Guelph and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have reported a new species of midge damaging canola crops in those areas. The species […] Read more



CPT small plot data is now online

CPT small plot data is now online

Small plot data from the 2016 Canola Performance Trials has been posted online. At the CPT website you can look up average yield, height, lodging and days to maturity for tested canola varieties. Filters on the website let you look for results in specific locations, and directly compare one variety to another. These small plots […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola crush margins tumble

CNS Canada — Canola crush margins dropped by more than $30 per tonne over the past two weeks, which may be putting a damper on end-user demand. As of Thursday, the Canola Board Crush Margins calculated by ICE Futures Canada were at about $100 above the March contract, which compares with levels only two weeks […] Read more



Scout fields before seeding, to see if the canola residue has pseudothecia — tiny black dots that release spores.

Slowing blackleg resistance with rotation

Labelling canola seed could help farmers slow the development of genetic resistance

As blackleg resurges in Western Canada, canola growers and agronomists have been calling for seed companies to label the blackleg resistance genes on their varieties. Those labels would allow farmers to rotate resistance genes when one resistant variety breaks, the thinking goes. “We’ve been engaged with the industry over the last few years to see […] Read more

Look for cankers at swathing time. Farmers who scout regularly and don’t find blackleg might want to stick with similar canola varieties.

Managing blackleg on the farm

Clint Jurke of the Canola Council of Canada offers producers three tips

Clint Jurke, agronomy director for the Canola Council of Canada says the industry is “losing millions of dollars in terms of canola yields every year due to blackleg.” The disease is also a trade issue, and we need to improve control as much as possible, he adds. “We really want growers to look at what […] Read more