Weather & Production Tips

Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News November 21, 2019

Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Shippers scrambled to shift freight onto trucks on Thursday as a strike at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, hit its third day, leaving the critical fuel propane and other goods stranded. Some 3,200 unionized employees, including conductors and yard workers, hit picket lines on Tuesday in the biggest such action […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

Propane-starved East’s grain growers seek end to CN strike

By GFM Network News November 20, 2019

Farmers fighting through a soggy harvest in Eastern Canada have joined their western counterparts’ call for an end to the strike by Canadian National Railway workers — not to get grain out, but to get propane in. Restoring the supply of propane for Quebec’s farm businesses, in the wake of a Canada-wide strike launched Tuesday […] Read more

Falling number can be obtained free of charge from the Canadian Grain Commission through its harvest sample program until Dec. 31 if you’re registered for the program. (Canadian Grain Commission photo)

Crops, Markets, Spring Wheat, Weather

Knowing your wheat’s falling number critical this year

By Allan Dawson, GFM Network News November 18, 2019

[UPDATED: Nov. 22, 2019] The ‘harvest from hell’ has resulted in one of the worst years in recent memory for sprout damage. That’s pushed down falling numbers and — since grain buyers have different approaches to handling this issue — increased the need for farmers to know the falling numbers for their wheat. But if […] Read more

Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil on Aug. 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

Cow-Calf, General, Reuters, Weather

Brazil Amazon deforestation soars to 11-year high

By GFM Network News November 18, 2019

Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil | Reuters — Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose to its highest in over a decade this year, government data on Monday showed, confirming a sharp increase under the leadership of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The data from Brazil’s INPE space research agency, which showed deforestation soaring 29.5 per cent […] Read more

File photo of propane tanks. (Joe_Potato/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Machinery, Reuters, Weather

U.S. states declare emergencies to help farmers in propane shortage

By Reuters, GFM Network News November 18, 2019

Reuters — Regional shortages of propane, which is used for heating homes and barns and by farmers to dry their crops, have led to emergency declarations covering nine U.S. Midwest states amid late harvests of soggy grains. Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin declared state emergencies beginning in late October, and continued last Friday to […] Read more

Unharvested canola under snow in October 2016. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Canola, Crops, Reuters, Weather

Millions of acres of canola freeze, compound ‘harvest from hell’

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News November 15, 2019

Winnipeg | Reuters — Heavy snow and rain during harvest on the Canadian Prairies have left several million acres of canola buried until spring, the latest blow in a miserable year that may compound farmer problems into 2020. Canola is renowned as Canada’s most profitable crop, exported to China, Japan and Mexico to make vegetable […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

U.S. propane bottlenecks not affecting Canada

By GFM Network News November 15, 2019

MarketsFarm — Despite ongoing shortfalls of propane in some areas of the U.S. Midwest, the situation doesn’t appear to be adversely affecting Canada, according to the Canadian Propane Association. The late harvest in the Midwest has been further hampered by wet conditions, forcing farmers to dry their grain before putting it in the bin. As […] Read more

White-out conditions and poor visibility were reported across southern Manitoba on Oct. 11 as winds gusted between 30-70 km/h and whipped blowing snow high into the air.

Columns, Crops, Weather

Toban Dyck: Are October storms a farmer’s wake-up call?

It’s tough to bear the holdups and heartbreak caused by weather this harvest

By Toban Dyck November 14, 2019

There are a lot of things in this life that are difficult to process. Weather is one of them. When a storm tore through Manitoba from October 10 to 12, delivering gale force winds over a long stretch of time, accompanied by an entire season’s worth of snow, harvest, tillage and the rest of our […] Read more

Barley, Crops, Markets, Weather

Feed weekly outlook: Prolonged Prairie harvest pushes up grain prices

By GFM Network News November 14, 2019

MarketsFarm — A seemingly never-ending harvest across the Prairies has been responsible for a $10-$15 per tonne jump this month in feed grain prices, said Glen Loyns, general manager of JGL Commodities in Moose Jaw. “It’s probably gone up $5 this week,” Loyns said. This year’s extended harvest, coupled with large amounts of grain to […] Read more

A deep storm surge that flowed during Hurricane Dorian from the Pamlico Sound back to the Atlantic Ocean swept this cow off her home range on North Carolina’s Cedar Island over to the barrier island in Cape Lookout National Seashore, where she was found in early September. (U.S. National Park Service photo by Jeff West)

Cow-Calf, Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Dorian swept swimming cows two miles to North Carolina beach

By GFM Network News November 14, 2019

Cape Lookout National Seashore, N.C. | Reuters — Three cows have been spotted beachcombing on a remote barrier island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, swept to an unlikely grazing spot when Hurricane Dorian whipped waves powerful enough to carry them two miles from their home. One of the bovine bodysurfers was seen soon after the […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract highs on shock herd decline

Alberta Crop Report: Harvest more than three-quarters finished

NFU says proposed plant breeders’ rights come at farmers’ expense

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract highs on shock herd decline

Alberta Crop Report: Harvest more than three-quarters finished

NFU says proposed plant breeders’ rights come at farmers’ expense

Weather

Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day

Propane-starved East’s grain growers seek end to CN strike

Knowing your wheat’s falling number critical this year

Brazil Amazon deforestation soars to 11-year high

U.S. states declare emergencies to help farmers in propane shortage

Millions of acres of canola freeze, compound ‘harvest from hell’

U.S. propane bottlenecks not affecting Canada

Toban Dyck: Are October storms a farmer’s wake-up call?

Feed weekly outlook: Prolonged Prairie harvest pushes up grain prices

Dorian swept swimming cows two miles to North Carolina beach

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