A look at one of the plot locations used during the field testing of the University of Manitoba’s fusarium head blight risk assessment tool.

FHB risk assessment tool created for Western Canada

With real-time data, the new tool shows the risk of FHB in small grain cereal crops on a specified date

A new online tool developed by a team of scientists and researchers in Manitoba could soon make fusarium head blight (FHB) risk management in cereal crops easier for Prairie farmers. For the past five years, staff in the department of soil science at the University of Manitoba (U of M) have been working on a […] Read more

File photo of a BNSF grain train in Montana. (Photo courtesy BNSF Railway)

Feed weekly outlook: U.S. corn keeps making way into Canadian rations

Ease of sourcing corn by rail an attractive feature

MarketsFarm — The size and quality of the 2023 Canadian grain crop is still very much in the air, but domestic feeders intend to keep at least some corn from the U.S. in their rations going forward no matter what is grown on the Prairies. Canadian buyers have already booked 78,500 tonnes of U.S. corn […] Read more


Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canadian canola, wheat area up on the year: StatCan

More soybean, corn acres also estimated

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers planted more canola than earlier intentions, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada released Wednesday. Meanwhile, wheat plantings hit their highest level in more than two decades. Total canola plantings were estimated at 22.1 million acres by the government agency, which compares with the 21.6 million expected in April and […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Analysts expect little change in new StatCan numbers

Weather was 'pretty conducive to plantings'

MarketsFarm — Dry conditions in much of the Prairies this spring may leave seeding areas relatively unchanged ahead of Statistic Canada’s (StatCan) principal field crop report, due to be released Wednesday. It will be the second survey-based acreage report for the 2023-24 marketing year, after the first one was released in April. While growing conditions […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Rains lift interest, prices

Dry conditions in U.S. Corn Belt supportive

MarketsFarm — When Alberta was dry, feed prices drew little interest according to Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. But that changed after some timely rains, with prices on the rise. “There’s more demand than we have seen in a while,” Leclerc said. “When crops were looking crappy and people were worried about […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: 800-lb. steers touch $300/cwt mark

Nearby cash market at odds with futures

For the week ending June 17, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quoted $2-$5/cwt higher on average compared to seven days earlier. However, larger packages of quality yearlings traded $8-$10/cwt above week-ago levels. The market was hard to define because available supplies are dwindling at this time of year. The quality of cattle was extremely […] Read more


File photo of barley being loaded off the combine. (Collab Media/iStock/Getty Images)

Australia expects ‘favourable decision’ from China on barley

Heavy tariffs in place since 2020

Sydney | Reuters — Australia is expecting a positive decision over the next two weeks from China to fully settle a dispute over barley tariffs, Trade Minister Don Farrell said Thursday. “We are expecting in the next couple of weeks a favourable decision on the tariffs that has prevented Australian barley going into China,” Farrell […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices, shipments steady as dryness continues

Drought 'priced into the market already'

MarketsFarm — Demand for feed grains at Alberta feedlots continues unabated as more corn from the United States makes its way into the province. “Demand at feedlots has been status quo. Feedlots are buying imported U.S. corn and DDGS. Along with that, there is also barley and feed wheat. They are getting enough supplies right […] Read more


File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

Ukraine’s farm output could take 20 years to recover, study suggests

Some crop sectors may recover more quickly

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s agricultural sector could take 20 years or more in parts to recover from the ravages of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to a Kyiv-based research centre. Ukraine is a major global grower and exporter of wheat, corn, sunflower and sunflower oil, but its production has fallen sharply since the war start […] Read more

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

Feed weekly outlook: Market in a waiting game

U.S. corn, available wheat keep market supplied

MarketsFarm — The feed grain market in Western Canada is holding relatively steady for the time being as both buyers and sellers wait to get a better handle on new-crop production. “It’s a waiting game at this point between the farmer and the feedlot,” said grain merchant Jay Janzen of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. […] Read more