Crops & Production Tips

A barley crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Low demand, fewer acres expected for cheaper feed barley

By GFM Network News April 7, 2022

MarketsFarm — As corn became the primary feed grain at Alberta feedlots over the past few months, the demand for — and price of — feed barley have diminished over time. But according to one trader, this won’t mean demand will shift from corn to barley anytime soon. Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities in Saskatoon […] Read more

A custom hauler spreads dairy manure on hay ground using a Husky 18000L Slimline liquid manure spreader on a farm at Wallenstein, Ont., north of Kitchener, in the spring of 2018. (Husky Farm Equipment handout photo via Reuters)

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Reuters

No poop for you: Manure supplies run short as fertilizer prices soar

Ontario honeywagon maker all sold out

By Tom Polansek, GFM Network News April 7, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — For nearly two decades, Abe Sandquist has used every marketing tool he can think of to sell the back end of a cow. Poop, after all, needs to go somewhere. The Midwestern entrepreneur has worked hard to woo farmers on its benefits for their crops. Now, facing a global shortage of […] Read more

Crops

Advance Payments Program to offer 100 per cent up front

Feds temporarily waive 60 per cent up-front limit

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News April 7, 2022

Canadian farmers seeking pre-production cash advances under the federal Advance Payments Program ahead of this year’s spring seeding will be able to get the entire eligible amount up front. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced a “temporary waiving” of the program’s usual requirement that pre-production cash advances be issued in instalments of 60 […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 10-, 20- and 50-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Chicago soybeans, corn consolidate

CBOT wheat mixed pending sanctions

By Christopher Walljasper, GFM Network News April 7, 2022

Reuters — Chicago soybeans and corn eased on Wednesday, consolidating after two days of gains, as traders watch U.S. weather and planting, while wheat traded mixed pending further sanctions against Russia following reports of civilian deaths in Ukraine. The most-active soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) eased 11-1/2 cents to $16.19-1/2 a bushel […] Read more

ICE November 2022 new-crop canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

Canola, Crops, Markets

ICE weekly outlook: Overvalued canola market due for correction

By Phil Franz-Warkentin, GFM Network News April 6, 2022

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts climbed to fresh contract highs during the first week of April, but ran into profit-taking resistance and could be due for more losses as the market looks overpriced. “We’re starting to see canola give back some of the extra premium it’s been putting on,” said Ken Ball of PI […] Read more

The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Markets

CBOT weekly outlook: Smaller corn, soybean ending stocks expected

By GFM Network News April 6, 2022

MarketsFarm — Ahead of the April supply and demand (WASDE) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday, trader Ryan Ettner of Allendale Inc. at McHenry, Ill. said he’s expecting carryovers for corn and soybeans to come in below March’s estimates. Ettner has also pegged the wheat carryout to be a little bit higher. […] Read more

File photo of a rapeseed field in Iwate prefecture in northeastern Honshu, Japan. (Nattya3714/iStock.Getty Images)

Canola, Crops, Markets, Soybeans

USDA reports offer new oilseed insights from India, Japan

By GFM Network News April 6, 2022

MarketsFarm — The Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its weekly Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) reports on Wednesday, including new information regarding oilseeds in India and Japan. Oilseed production in India is projected to increase by one per cent at 42.1 million tonnes in 2022-23, according to FAS New […] Read more

Sheri Strydhorst says a couple of weeks after the crop is up and growing, farmers should be scouting fields, checking as many acres as possible and making an assessment of what’s “normal” and “not normal.” Look closely at plants above ground, at ground level and dig up a few to examine the roots. Strydhorst cautions against getting lazy or complacent — nothing beats having boots in the field to identify problems before they get out of hand.

Crops, Features

Get boots in the field as variables increase

Field scouting is even more important this year as farmers face an increasing number of variables

By Lee Hart April 6, 2022

There are a few good reasons to put some real effort into field scouting this coming season. Crop growth and development, particularly with wild weather, can be much different than “normal.” And knowing what pests are out there or not out there, or the degree of severity if they are out there, makes for much […] Read more

Hunter Goliath turnips can be an excellent forage cover crop, although as the White Lake Colony learned one concern with turnips, especially if there is a high percentage in the forage mix is that the high protein crop “runs through the cattle too fast; the cows get very loose manure”.

Cattleman’s Corner, Crops

Experimenting with irrigated cover crops

Program helps to extend the grazing season while also helping to benefit the soil

By Heather Smith Thomas April 6, 2022

The White Lake Hutterite Colony near Nobleford, about half an hour northwest of Lethbridge, Alberta produces both beef cattle along with annual crops, and in recent years they’ve started looking at growing cover crops under irrigation. Cattle manager Jerry Hofer has been trying several different species to be seeded after taking off soft white wheat […] Read more

CBOT May 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (black line), MGEX May 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. May 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat firmer on U.S. crop conditions’ decline

CBOT corn, soybeans also gain

By Christopher Walljasper, GFM Network News April 5, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat climbed on Tuesday as worse-than-expected U.S. crop conditions added to global supply concerns already heightened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Corn and soybeans were also higher, bolstered as U.S. growers weigh last-minute planting decisions. The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ended 35 cents […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: CME cattle fall on profit-taking

U.S. grains: Soybeans rebound as market weighs China prospects

B.C. ostrich owner condemns violence near embattled farm