Prairie farmers hoping for a dry, warm harvest will still need to pay close attention to grain condition when it comes off the field. Even dry grain can be prone to spoilage if harvest temperatures are too high and hot grain is not cooled down quickly after it has been binned. “Minimizing the risk of […] Read more
Barley
Smaller harvest likely to take longer
Variable crop quality between northern and southern regions expected to cause headaches for grain companies
Farmers and grain companies are preparing for a prolonged harvest and a below-average crop. Provincial specialists are forecasting smaller than usual crops in Alberta and Saskatchewan because of hot and dry conditions. That is a view shared by the Western Grain Elevator Association, which is forecasting a 60 million tonne harvest in Western Canada, down […] Read more
Harvest: the last chance to boost yield
Learning where your losses are occurring at the back of the combine is critical to putting money in your pocket
HUMBOLDT, Sask. — Harvest time is another opportunity to increase yield by reducing what stays in the field. Combine losses are typically acceptable at a bushel per acre, depending on the crop. The number is more if it is a heavy feed barley crop and less if it is canola or flax. For every bushel […] Read more
How does a plant breeding program work?
LACOMBE, Alta. — Selecting a new grain variety is like holding a casting call for actors in which hundreds try out but only one gets the part. The wheat, triticale and barley breeding programs at the Alberta Crop Development Centre near Lacombe look at thousands of lines of potential candidates to register the next new […] Read more
Trials compare rotation length, weed numbers
Research studied one and two-year rotations, with and without fungicide treatments, and assessed weed populations
LACOMBE, Alta. — Current prairie crop rotations are too short to beat back weeds and disease. “If you look at our cropping systems here in Western Canada, we are largely a cereal-oilseed-cereal-oilseed rotation in many areas. In many areas, pulses are an important part of the rotation,” Kelly Turkington, a plant pathologist with Agriculture Canada […] Read moreMalting barley outlook promising
Questions remain about Western Canada’s malting barley crop, but many analysts appear to expect at least an adequate harvest. Quality concerns and yield reductions will hit farmers in southern areas, but for those with good quality, prices should remain steady for the medium term. While analysts cautioned that forecasts can still change depending on the […] Read more
Feed options drying up in southern Sask.
Tim Stewart is trying to plan his next move. Searing hot weather and months without significant moisture have left his hay crops and pastures bone dry. “We’re stuck in a pretty tough spot,” said the cattle producer who lives west of Rockglen, Sask. “The price of hay is awfully high so it’s pretty near impossible […] Read more
Has post-CWB marketing freedom been good for farmers?
Has the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly really been gone five years? For such a revolutionary change in western Canadian wheat marketing, the Aug. 1 “marketing freedom” five-year anniversary passed relatively quietly. Farmers and marketing advisers, whether fierce partisans or neutral stakeholders, looked back on the massive changes to western Canadian wheat and barley marketing wrought […] Read more
EU wheat crop showing mixed yields and quality -Strategie Grains
PARIS, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Wheat harvesting in the European Union is showing varied yields and quality, with good results in southeastern states contrasting with a deterioration in countries such as Germany hit by heavy summer rain, consultancy Strategie Grains said. It raised its estimate of soft wheat production in the 28-country EU, to 141 […] Read more
Canola futures end higher in thin volume
(Reuters) — ICE Canada canola futures rose today in light volume following a long holiday weekend, supported by dry conditions in portions of the Canadian Prairies and spillover strength from allied vegetable oil markets, traders said. November canola rose $5.40 to settle at $505.70 per tonne, and January canola ended up $5.40 at $511.10. Total […] Read more
