A sunflower crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

Rains make sunny days for sunflower crops

MarketsFarm — Despite drought conditions throughout southern Manitoba decimating crops during the summer, late rain showers in some areas are improving harvests of one crop in particular. Precipitation in August helped improve the sunflower seed harvest in areas of Manitoba, with the province reporting on Oct. 13 average yields of more than 2,000 lbs. per […] Read more

Should you till after a drought?

Should you till after a drought?

Q & A with an expert

Q: What factors should be considered with fall tillage following a drought? A: Fall work might include tillage operations for fertilizer and herbicide applications. Other tillage operations might include vertical tillage for residue management and tillage to break up surface compaction. The question after a drought is, “Should I till?”  Many parts of Western Canada […] Read more


ICE November 2021 canola (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (yellow line) and CBOT December 2021 soyoil (green line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola rally keeps going

Not yet back at $1K, but it's possible

MarketsFarm — With good gains from other edible oils, canola has remained on the rise so far during the week of Oct. 18. It’s uncertain as to how much longer the rally could press on, but analyst David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg said canola punching through $1,000 per tonne again is possible. “Never […] Read more

MGEX December 2021 spring wheat (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn, soy futures up with global demand

MGEX December wheat at nine-year high

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures hit a two-week high on Wednesday and soybean futures also advanced, supported by brisk global demand, firm cash markets and surging vegetable oil prices. U.S. wheat futures rose as Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat futures set a nine-year top on tightening global supplies of high-quality milling wheat. Additional […] Read more


Detail on the Chicago Board of Trade building. (Kevinstack22/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn strength impressive for time of year

MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade have posted solid gains over the week ended Wednesday, recovering after bearish yield and stocks data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture sparked a selloff a week earlier. Terry Reilly of Futures International in Chicago used “pretty impressive” to describe the latest strength […] Read more



Yellow peas. (Victoria Popova/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Yellow peas selling at a premium

Local fractionation markets competitive

MarketsFarm –– Last summer’s lacklustre pea harvest in Western Canada has helped raise prices, but none more so than those of yellow peas. Yellow peas were trading at a high-delivered bid of $17.50 per bushel, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data from Monday, up $1.50 from the same time last month and $9.50 from the […] Read more

CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on firm cash markets, vegoils

Corn, wheat futures sputter

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures ended higher on Tuesday for a fourth straight session, with the benchmark November contract touching a one-week top on firm cash markets and global demand for vegetable oils, analysts said. But Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures closed lower, sagging after a choppy session. CBOT November […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

White House not ruling out a U.S. carbon tax

Option 'not off the table' despite Manchin comment

Washington | Reuters –– The White House on Tuesday said it has not ruled out a carbon tax as a possible option for fighting climate change, even though U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout in the closely divided Senate, said he was not discussing the topic in talks about U.S. spending and infrastructure bills. […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN CEO to retire as investor pressure weighs

Shareholder TCI has replacement in mind

Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) said on Tuesday its CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest will retire at the end of January, following investor demands for his exit after the railroad operator’s failed bid for Kansas City Southern. TCI Fund Management, which owns five per cent of Canadian National, in August pitched former Jim Vena — a […] Read more