The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served its 72-hour strike notice on Aug. 19 to the Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). In response, CN said it will lockout workers until a new agreement or binding arbitration is reached. CPKC previously stated they would lockout the Teamsters. 

Greg Northey, vice president, corporate affairs for Pulse Canada, said both railways being shut down would be an “unprecedented” situation and called the potential impact “significant”. 

“For pulses, around 90 to 95 per cent are moved by rail,” he said. “In the event of both railways being disrupted … a huge amount of our exports will be sort of stuck. It’s particularly pressing right now because peas are the first crops off. It’s very problematic for those farmers and for those exporters who rely on rail and don’t have them available.” 

Farmers will likely choose to keep their crops in storage, according to Northey, adding that elevators are also an option but have limited storage capacity. However, a rail shutdown would see failures of contracts with buyers. 

“We’re going to see massive delays. We’re going to see massive costs. We’re going to see contract penalties,” Northey said. “There’s not much that can be done to move the volume of pulses that we need to move as a contingency. We’re really at the mercy of the two railways not functioning. There’s not much you can do to replace a railway.” 

Northey said prices in the short-term will drop in an attempt to prevent deliveries. The long-term effects will be hard to determine, but he added that competitors may move into certain markets and pulse growers will have to price accordingly. 

Pulse Canada, along with 22 other crop and agricultural industry groups across the country, joined forces on a campaign called Stop The Strike. They are asking the federal government to intervene and prevent the shutdown from happening before Aug. 22. The website also allows visitors to send a form email to federal cabinet ministers and their respective MPs. 

But even before the shutdown becomes official, the damage has already started. 

“CPKC has already stopped allowing new shipments on their rail lines as of (Aug. 20),” Northey said. “(This shutdown) is going to be way too damaging for us and the economy.” 

Adding to the untimeliness of a work stoppage is that Canadian pulse crops have done well this year. 

“It’s turning out to be a pretty good (crop). There is plenty of positivity for sure,” Northey said. “India is back in the market for peas, so there is a strong demand. What’s particularly frustrating is this is some of our best windows in terms of demand and prices, especially for peas. Some of that enthusiasm has been suppressed because of our issues with the railways.” 

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“The lentils are starting to come in,” Mosnaim commented.

He noted that he had yet to hear as to the quality of those already off the fields.

Lentil combining in southeast and southwest Saskatchewan were 10 per cent complete as of Aug. 5, according to that province’s crop report. Harvesting of the pulse was six per cent done in the west-central region, while most of Saskatchewan’s lentil crop was still standing. Over in Alberta, the combining of pulses was expected to get underway this week.

Prices for Laird lentils have been hit the hardest, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. The large green lentils lost 16 to 18 cents per pound over the course of the week ended Aug. 12. Prices ranges from a low of 29 cents/lb. delivered. for number three Lairds to 52 cents for number twos.

Also, French number one lentils were down seven cents on the week at 42.5 to 48 cents/lb. Red lentils pulled back one to four cents at 21 to 31 cents/lb.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada projected the 2024/25 lentil harvest to reach 2.5 million tonnes in its July report, up from 1.67 million the year before. Ending stocks are expected to jump to 450,000 tonnes versus 50,000 in 2023/24. That would see the stocks-to-use-ratio rise seven-fold to 21 per cent.

AAFC’s next report is scheduled to be released on Aug. 20. Also, Statistics Canada is set to issue its model-based estimates of principal field crops on Aug. 28.

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Delivered prices for green peas across the Prairies ranged from C$12.50 to C$14.21 per bushel as of July 26, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. The latter price was down C$4.27 from last month but only four cents lower than last year. For yellow peas, delivered prices ranged from C$9.75 to C$11.40/bu., down C$1.60 from last month and down C$1.40 from last year.

Shawn Madsen, operations manager of Southland Pulse near Estevan, Sask., went on a recent road trip looking at fields hundreds of kilometres south of Estevan, including some in the United States. He said crops look “better than average” for the most part and he anticipates more peas to be available than in the past few years.

“It’s only natural when you see prices decline when that happens,” he added.
However, some areas were affected by the recent hot and dry conditions in much of Saskatchewan.

“There are some pockets that didn’t get as much rain (west and south of Estevan). Those producers (over there) you kind of feel for because with those prices that are declining and they don’t have much to sell, they are going to hurt the most.”

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) estimated 2023-24 ending stocks for peas at 225,000 tonnes in its monthly estimates released on July 22. However, an expected 691,000-tonne rise in production for 2024-25 at 3.3 million tonnes would raise carryout to 440,000 tonnes.

Madsen said buyers are being “patient” with the new crop.

“They’ve seen this crop grow and mature and it looks like it’s going to be okay,” he said. “They didn’t want to go out and buy more in fear of paying too much. They’re watching and waiting. I think there’s going to be good demand but the market’s going to have to figure out where it looks for both the buyer and the seller.”

In drier areas of the province, some growers have already harvested their peas and the rest of the province may follow suit soon.

“We’re only probably days away from seeing a lot of combines rolling around this area,” Madsen said.

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After heavy rainfall earlier this summer caused flooding in low-lying areas and washed out some pulse acres, Dale Risula said growers couldn’t wait for the heat to help crops develop. Now, the warmer and drier conditions are doing more harm than good.

“Initially, it was good because we had a cool start to the summer. You need to have some heat units for plants to start growing. Consequently, the heat finally hit and I think the plants started growing very rapidly,” he said. “Too much heat can be a negative thing. I don’t think that’s hit yet. But if this heat wave persists for an extended amount of time, I’d start looking for stuff to happen.”

Risula warned that the heat can cause crops to be more susceptible to disease. He doesn’t think the heat wave has lasted long enough to lead to reduced yields, but more precipitation will be welcome from now until harvest.

“Once the pods start developing, then they’re going to start needing moisture in that point of time,” he said. “I think right now there is a great deal of evapo-transpiration taking place out there, in both the soil and the plants. A lot of moisture is being lost due to the heat.”

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released its monthly estimates on July 22 and raised many of them for pulses compared to those from June.

The seeded area for dry peas in 2024-25 was pegged at 1.3 million hectares, 36,000 more than the June estimate and 67,000 more than the 2023-24 total. Production was estimated to be 3.3 million tonnes, compared to three million from the previous month and the 2023-24 total of 2.609 million. Ending stocks were set to be 440,000 tonnes, 200,000 more than the June estimate and 215,000 more than in 2023-24.

For lentils, AAFC estimated 1.704 million hectares of seeded area, compared to 1.55 million from June and 1.485 million in 2023-24. Production was slated at 2.5 million tonnes, 370,000 more than the June estimate and 819,000 more than the 2023-24 total. Ending stocks were projected at 450,000 tonnes compared to 190,000 from the June report and 50,000 from 2023-24.

Dry beans were sown in 150,000 hectares, according to AAFC’s July estimate, up 5,000 from June and up 21,000 from 2023-24. Production was guessed at 375,000 tonnes, up 20,000 from the June estimate and up 36,000 from 2023-24. Ending stocks were unchanged at 40,000 tonnes, double the amount from 2023-24.

Chickpea area was reported at 184,000 hectares, 22,000 more than the June estimate and 56,000 more than the total from 2023-24. A crop of 305,000 tonnes was estimated for 2024-25, compared to 225,000 in last month’s report and 142,000 from 2023-24. Ending stocks were raised 40,000 tonnes from June at 85,000, compared to only 1,000 tonnes in 2023-24.

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Sinclair said that yellow pea prices in Alberta peaked at about C$13 per bushel earlier this year, with prices for green peas having reached C$15/bu.

“Farmers took advantage of that to a certain degree, as much as they were comfortable with,” he commented, noting that price will drop once harvest is underway.

Most of that selling will be off the combine and will saturate the Prairie pea market. Sinclair said he firmly believes that once combining has finished those prices will bounce back to an extent, but not to the $13/bu. the yellows had been getting.

“It’s going to depend on how everything is going to fare through this hot, dry stretch we’re in right now,” he said. “You can hear the concern in their voices when you talk to guys.”

As for Statistics Canada’s projection for three million tonnes of peas in 2024/25, Sinclair suggested production very likely won’t go much higher and could slip below the forecast.

“There are enough areas, certainly in Alberta, that have been just limping along on timely rain. There’s not a tremendous amount of subsoil moisture for crops to work with,” he stated.

One thing working in favour for Canadian farmers has been India and its duty-free period for pulse imports. Sinclair said it came just as Canada’s pea exports to China have dropped as the latter has turned to Russia.

“The support will come back to the market,” Sinclair emphasized.

The Canadian Grain Commission reported that 2023/24 pea exports, that cleared licensed facilities through to May, destined for India are more than 831,000 tonnes compared to zero the year before. Those to China were about 796,000 tonnes, down from 977,000 this time last year.

While Sinclair said, “there are some reasons for positivity,” he cautioned that India extended the duty free period through to next spring to Australia.

Prairie Ag Hotwire cited old crop yellow pea prices across Western Canada were C$13 to C$16.50/bu. delivered as of July 15. Prices for green peas were C$10.52 to C$12.25/bu. As for new crop, the yellows were at C$13.06 t0 $14/bu. with the greens at C$10.70 to C$11.50/bu.

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Dennis Lange added that Manitoba has received approximately 30 per cent more rainfall than normal since May 1 and the extra moisture is already putting stress on pulses.

“Field peas, for example, in areas that have never received this excess moisture before, are already showing signs of stress conditions,” he said. “When you look at some of the other pulses, like dry beans and if you include soybeans in that mix, we are further behind as far as growing conditions. We’re about 90 per cent of our normal growing degree accumulation at this time of year. So, the dry beans and the soybeans are a bit further behind.”

The weather forecast for this week in much of Manitoba called for high temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius with plenty of humidity and likely thunderstorms. Lange added these conditions could allow pulses to play catch-up.

Pea growers have started to spray to prevent mycosphaerella blight while also looking out for pea aphids. For other pulse crops, growers will start to apply fungicide and insecticide in the next few weeks.

While other pulses are behind when it comes to their development, peas are on track due to the cooler temperatures so far this summer, according to Lange. Cooler temperatures overnight have also aided in crop recovery. But now is the time for some better weather.

“I think we need to get into some warmer conditions to really help with dry beans and soybeans and get them moving along,” he said. “Considering we’re at 130 per cent of normal precipitation, we could turn the tap off for a little while just to let things recover.”

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Earlier this year, StatCan projected some 400,000 planted acres of chickpeas in 2024/25. The year before about 315,500 acres were seeded.

The vast majority of chickpeas are grown in Saskatchewan, with StatCan expecting more than 360,000 acres, up from the 272,200 in 2023/24. The remainder of trackable amounts will be planted in Alberta at around 39,700 acres, down from the 43,300 put into the ground last year.

“The general consensus is acres are up,” Young stated, noting StatCan’s data has been fairly accurate when it comes to chickpeas, with an acceptable margin of error.

He also expects production to increase due to the good conditions on the Prairies although the cool, wet weather has delayed chickpea development by about a week. He said the earlier planted chickpeas should begin to flower around the Canada Day long weekend.

“It’s not concerningly late by any means. It’s what I would call the late end of normal crop development-wise,” Young said. “The fear is that when we turn into July that there will be some hail.”

Should that occur, Young pointed out that would further delay the chickpeas by about an additional week or two. In turn that would raise the possibility of frost damage.

“An early September frost would certainly downgrade the quality,” he noted.

In the meantime, Young said chickpea growers have been taking good care of their crops with already one or two applications of fungicide to ward off the potential for diseases.

“The anxiety when you grow chickpeas begins when you treat your seed and it doesn’t stop until you cash your cheque,” Young joked.

Chickpea prices have dipped according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. The Kabulis regardless of size have shed a penny, with the largest sizes going for 41.8 to 44 cents per pound as of June 24. The B-90’s were also down a penny at 26.5 to 27.8 per cents/lb. while the Desi number ones were steady at 27.8 to 33 cents/lb.

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While cooler temperatures and near-constant rainfall over much of the province delayed seeding and crop development, the growing season is off to a good start.

“It’s certainly nice to see seeding going in with good moisture conditions in some areas of the province after years of drought conditions,” Potts said.

As of June 10, seeding was 98 per cent complete in Saskatchewan according to the province’s weekly crop report. Also, 79 per cent of pulse crops were in normal development, while 19 per cent were behind and two per cent were ahead. Lentils were rated 90 per cent good to excellent, while chickpeas were rated at 95 per cent. Field peas were rated at 91 per cent good to excellent, while soybeans were at 83 per cent.

“We’re expecting (field) pea and lentil acres to be up 12 to 15 per cent … Chickpeas are probably up 25 per cent. I think strong prices have really driven more acres, but it’s still a little bit early to tell to see which crops are faring better than others,” Potts said.

However, excess moisture can result in flooding in low-lying areas and bring additional pressure to crops, including the threat of disease.

“June is a time when we start to see root disease with a little bit more moisture,” Potts said. “We’re waiting to see how prevalent root disease, particularly aphanomyces, will show up in pulse crops in wetter conditions. That’s a bit of a wait-and-see. As of now, I think good moisture conditions are really useful to get those crops higher off the ground.”

He heard from farmers and SaskPulse board members that conditions were ideal in eastern parts of Saskatchewan, while the southwest was still coping with the additional moisture.

“I hope the warmer weather will come and we can get those crops grown,” Potts added.

Demand has been strong for Saskatchewan pulse crops in the international markets, Potts mentioned, citing examples including higher prices for lentils and peas as well as saying there was little unsold inventory remaining on farms.

With moisture already in good supply, Potts is hoping for the sun and the heat if there’s going to be an ideal growing season.

“I think what we need is a break in the rain cycle in some areas and some good warm 25 (to) 28 degree (Celsius) days to get those crops moving,” he said. “And then, of course, we need some timely rains in July to get the crop closer to harvest.”

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The second half of May has been one of the rainiest periods seen in Manitoba in a number of years. On May 24 and 25, upwards to 70 millimetres of precipitation were reported in most areas, causing seeding to become delayed in multiple locations.

“We’re trying to collect all the observations and anecdotes about how much of the crop (was seeded) before the rain. We’re in that diagnostic period here trying to figure out what just happened and where things might go from here,” said Daryl Domitruk, executive director of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG).

While he recognized the rains were much needed after consecutive years of drought, the amounts and the timeliness of the precipitation are causing headaches for farmers. Crop insurance seeding deadlines for soybeans and pulse crops, established by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), are in late May and early June.

Regular soybean seeding deadlines range from May 30 to June 8, depending on the area, with extended seeding periods up to June 13. For dry beans, planting deadlines are from June 6 to 10 with extended seeding periods up to June 15. The seeding deadline for field peas is June 15 with the extended seeding period ending on June 20.

As of May 20, field pea planting was 90 per cent complete, while soybean seeding was only 34 per cent finished, according to Manitoba’s weekly provincial crop report. There was no data available for dry beans, but Domitruk estimated about one-third of the crop was in the ground in southcentral Manitoba.

“(Growers) are watching their fields dry and watching the skies all at the same time,” he said. “If we can get favourable conditions between now and (June 4), we might make up a lot of acres.”

For more information on Manitoba crop insurance deadlines, visit: masc.mb.ca.

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“We have good moisture and guys are putting stuff in the ground,” said Jake Hansen, general manager of Saskatchewan’s Mid-West Grain. He estimated that about 80 per cent of intended chickpea acres were in the ground on May 21, roughly double the planting progress as of the provincial crop report for May 13.

The rains may have caused some seeding delays but will be welcome overall after the drought conditions in recent years, according to Hansen. He added that disease was not yet a concern.

Hansen estimated total Canadian chickpea seedings in 2024 at 350,000 to 400,000 acres, which compares with the 316,000 acres seeded in 2023.

From a pricing standpoint, kabuli chickpeas are currently trading in the mid-30s to high-30s cents per pound range, with some new crop opportunities around 40 cents per pound.

While farmers would prefer higher bids after kabulis had traded over 50 cents per pound earlier this crop year, Hansen said the market was likely stable around current levels for the time being.

Anecdotal reports out of India point to a 10 per cent reduction in their desi chickpea crop this year, which will have a supportive influence on the kabuli market as well, according to Hansen. However, chickpea area in the United States is forecast to be up on the year while Turkey was expected to have maintained its acreage base – limiting the upside potential in the global market.

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