Photo: Greg Berg

Canola net short position grows

The net fund short position in canola grew in mid-September, as speculative selling took the futures to contract lows, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).


Wheat stocks in major exporting nations are not considered burdensome and are rather seen to have become relatively tight.

Markets continue to push lower

Risk premiums created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have evaporated

Market sentiment remains bearish for most agricultural commodities, including the major crops grown in Western Canada. Prices have been declining in most markets since the recent highs were set at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Markets have gradually adjusted to the news coming from the conflict and has effectively removed […] Read more



Clubroot off Saskatchewan’s regulated pest list

Clubroot is among several pests the Saskatchewan government has now deregulated. The province in June repealed its Pest Control Act and has replaced it with the Plant Health Act and accompanying regulations. As a result, clubroot, Richardson’s ground squirrel, grasshoppers and the warble fly are no longer on the list of declared pests. All are […] Read more



The latest model-based production estimates from Statistics Canada shows downward revisions in both canola and wheat production from the August report. Photo: Thinkstock

StatCan revises canola production lower

Hot and dry weather saw crop conditions decline across much of Western Canada over the past month, with the latest model-based production estimates from Statistics Canada showing downward revisions in both canola and wheat production from the August report.

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

Alberta harvest progressing rapidly

Warm temperatures and only minor rain delays allowed farmers in Alberta to make good harvest progress during the week ended Sept. 3, according to the latest provincial crop report. Total harvest progress for major crops came in at 31.5 per cent, which was up from 18.2 per cent the previous week and roughly double the […] Read more



john kolk

Strip tillage reducing erosion risk

For this Alberta farmer, the practice is one tool to protect vulnerable crops from the blast of prevailing winds

John Kolk hasn’t ironed out all the wrinkles involved in getting a crop seeded and growing while reducing or eliminating the risk of soil erosion, but the southern Alberta farmer has made “significant progress.” In recent years, a combination of practices that include cover crops and strip tillage have helped to hold the soil in […] Read more