ICE March 2023 canola with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola drifting lower

Near-record soy still expected from South America

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts drifted lower during the week ended Wednesday, although values remained rangebound overall. “The market is maybe coming to the realization that we still have near-record South American (soybean) supplies on hand,” Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg said of the downtrend. While Argentina has suffered crop losses from […] Read more

ICE March 2023 canola with 20-day moving average (yellow line, right column) and Canadian dollar value in U.S. dollars (red line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: March canola unchanged from last week

Loonie's relative strength seen as drag on values

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was once again trading rangebound for the week ended Wednesday, as the March contract was left unchanged from one week earlier at $828.20. The contract oscillated between a range of $819.40 and $837 per tonne during the week, all the while seemingly immune from larger price ranges seen […] Read more


Western Canada’s Brown soil zone stretches north from the Canada-U.S. border through south-central Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan.

More canola in the Brown soil zone?

While it may not be an ideal fit for this oilseed crop, farms in the area known as Palliser’s Triangle could see a big boost in canola acreage. Here’s why

Palliser’s Triangle is considered one of the most arid sections of the Canadian Prairies and led the man for whom it is named to once remark the area wasn’t fit for man nor beast due to its sandy soil and unpredictable rainfall. Although that may have been true when Capt. John Palliser mapped the area […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Grain stocks come in as projected

StatCan report deemed neutral for canola and spring wheat, supportive for durum

MarketsFarm — Stocks of Canadian grains at year-end appear to be pretty much in line with market expectations. Statistics Canada on Tuesday issued its report on stocks as of Dec. 31, 2022, which highlighted notable increases in most grains, further signaling a recovery from the 2021 drought. “Stocks reports are important because they confirm the […] Read more


The percentage of canola growers using variable-rate fertilizer on all of their fields in 2021 was down slightly from the previous year.

Why are farmers slow to adopt variable-rate fertilizer technology?

Reasons for the slow adoption rate plus tips to get you started

Variable-rate fertilizer (VRF) application has caught the interest of a lot of farmers over the past 15 years. However, the level of adoption of VRF has been slower than expected. A Fertilizer Canada survey of canola farmers in Western Canada in the fall of 2021 found only 10.2 per cent of growers used VRF application […] Read more

Rats cause many millions of dollars in damage to crops, food losses and buildings in Canada annually.

Successful pest protection and prevention programs

Given the right advice and a willingness to co-operate, Prairie growers can do a lot to mitigate or prevent crop yield losses

Pests of all kinds — weeds, animals, insects or diseases — would like to find a good home on your crop production acres. Prevention is by far the best method of pest control. If you can stop or prevent the pest from gaining a foothold on your acres, you are winning the battle. You do […] Read more


Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

China top destination for Canadian grains, oilseeds

CGC data points to key destinations

MarketsFarm — China is the top destination for Canadian grain and oilseed exports through the first five months of the 2022-23 marketing year, accounting for roughly a third of the total movement, according to the latest monthly report from the Canadian Grain Commission. Canada has exported 6.566 million tonnes of grains, oilseeds, and pulses to […] Read more

ICE March 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Choppy trading for canola, other oilseeds

Signals not pointing to course change for now

MarketsFarm — Expect canola and other oilseed markets to remain choppy for the time being, according to trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg. “All of the markets are very choppy and erratic. They’re very nervous markets,” Ball emphasized, noting war in Ukraine and drought in Argentina are having some of the biggest impacts […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Spec short position grows in canola

Managed money net long in soy, corn

MarketsFarm — Speculators were busy adding to their growing net short position in canola during the week ended Jan. 24, according to the latest Commitments of Traders (CoT) report compiled by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The net managed money short position in ICE Futures canola came in at 32,625 contracts on Jan. […] Read more

A view of Imperial Oil’s Strathcona fuel refinery from the North Saskatchewan River. (Imperial Oil photo via BusinessWire)

Imperial Oil clears Edmonton renewable diesel plant for construction

Quick decision motivated in part by need for feedstocks such as canola oil, company says

Reuters — Imperial Oil on Thursday announced approval for an investment of $720 million to build Canada’s largest renewable diesel facility at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. The Calgary-based company said the facility will produce 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel and is expected to start production in 2025. Imperial expects regulatory approval for […] Read more