File photo of a barley seedling. (SusanHSmith/iStock/Getty Images)

Feed weekly outlook: Short-term premiums add to fluctuations

Truckers seen trying to stay as local as possible

MarketsFarm — Although most feed grain buyers were fairly well covered through spring seeding, Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. at Edmonton said some were looking for feed to get through the coming weeks and offered premiums. “Which is a shock for seeding season,” she said, suggesting it’s best to shop around, with prices fluctuating […] Read more



In high-risk areas where a crop is stalled and flea beetles are feeding aggressively, the action threshold of 25 per cent may be met and surpassed within hours. In a situation like this, growers may want to spray at less than 25 per cent leaf area loss, giving the crop a chance to get through the day a little stronger, offers CCC’s Curtis Rempel.

Flea beetles: how to improve spray results

Five important tips when applying foliar insecticides

You’ve probably heard this before: the best defence against flea beetles is a canola crop that emerges uniformly, with five to eight plants per square foot, and grows quickly to the four-leaf stage. Weather conditions often conspire against these best laid plans, pushing canola growers to plan B: foliar insecticide. Farmers get particularly frustrated when […] Read more

Nutrien’s head office building in Saskatoon. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Nutrien cuts earnings forecast after quarterly profit misses estimates

High fertilizer prices seen dragging on demand

Reuters — Nutrien Ltd. on Wednesday cut its forecast for 2023 earnings as elevated fertilizer prices owed to Western sanctions on Russia and Belarus weigh on demand. U.S.-listed shares of the company fell 3.9 per cent in extended trading Wednesday as it also reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit. Though fertilizer prices have dipped from record […] Read more


(Qingwa/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Traders, analysts anticipate WASDE report

El Nino also worth watching longer-term

MarketsFarm — While traders and analysts continue to keep an eye on weather conditions, their collective focus will momentarily shift on Friday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) releases its monthly world agricultural supply/demand estimates (WASDE). This month’s report will be highly significant as it will announce the first U.S. crop production estimates for […] Read more

A vessel is seen arriving at Odesa in southern Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on April 12, 2023. (Photo: Yulii Zozulia/Nurphoto via Reuters Connect)

Black Sea grain deal could be extended two months, Turkish minister says

Inspections of outbound vessels have resumed

Istanbul | Reuters — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday he thought the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal could be extended for at least two more months, as officials from the parties involved held the first day of talks on an extension in Istanbul. Russia has said it would not extend the pact beyond […] Read more



ICE July 2023 canola with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola showing independent strength

Prairie weather uncertainty supportive

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures’ canola market saw some independent strength relative to other oilseeds during the week ended Wednesday, as speculative positioning and the need to ration tight old-crop supplies provided support. Canadian canola stocks as of March 31 were pegged at 5.95 million tonnes by Statistics Canada in a report released Tuesday. That was […] Read more


A typical brome grass field of the many I drive by on the way to Dundurn Farm. In wet years, there are many bales and in dry years only a few bales. The rain or soil moisture is always needed but if fertility is missing, wet years become ordinary years not high-yield years.

Les Henry: New wrinkles when fertilizing grass crops for hay and pasture

One quarter section of fertilized grass could give the same yield as five quarters of “cut what is there”

There are many old grass stands that are mainly brome grass and serve as hayfields with occasional grazing. Many hayfields have never seen a kernel of fertilizer. Perhaps this piece will start folks thinking and will lead to a change in practice. There are many old reports that deal with the topic. The two main […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Latest StatCan stocks report ‘least important of them all’

Wheat, canola numbers not expected to have significant impact on markets

MarketsFarm — For MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville, there was little in the latest Statistics Canada (StatCan) grain stocks report that would budge the markets. “When I look at the run of StatCan reports that we get through the year, whether they’re acreage, production or ending stocks, this report in May is the least important […] Read more