Western Canadian grain farmers, especially those in southern growing areas, will be looking for timely help from Mother Nature this year as they gear up for what could be an unusually dry spring seeding season. Agroclimate maps published by Agriculture Canada continue to show large areas of the prairie grain-growing region facing either dry or […] Read more
Flax
Low ending stocks may offset big seeding plans for flax
Flax markets are at risk of being oversupplied if North American growers follow through with their seeding plans, says an analyst. “It’s a small commodity and big shifts in acres make a big difference,” said Marlene Boersch, managing partner of Mercantile Consulting Venture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting 400,000 acres will be planted […] Read more
Whole crop research launched
For years in Western Canada, commodity groups have mostly stayed in their lane. Provincial canola associations fund research on canola diseases, flea beetles and other issues that affect canola. Flax associations fund research on flax, barley groups fund barley research and so on. The Manitoba Crop Alliance is now taking a different approach. On March […] Read more
Speciality crops find strength in numbers
At first glance, seven important specialty crops seem to have little in common, except a need for more research and development, and access to a bigger pot of money. As Carol Ann Patterson explained, each crop — initially canaryseed, flax, mustard and sunflower — was limited in how much research funding it could get. “With […] Read more
Kabuli acres likely to fall as supply tightens
Chickpea prices are projected to increase as supplies come down, but other crops are expected to steal acres this spring
Importers of kabuli chickpeas will have a tough time finding adequate supply of the crop in 2021-22, says a panel of experts. “We are certainly seeing a bullish scenario across the world for the kabuli chickpea crop,” Rajat Sarda, managing director of Rajat Agro, said during the India Pulses and Grains Association’s recent National Pulses […] Read more
Lines put forward for registration
CDC and Agriculture Canada unveil lines to be introduced at this week’s meetings held by the Prairie Grain Development Committee
Last year’s COVID-related restrictions challenged plant breeders across the West. Nonetheless, pedigreed seed growers and commercial grain growers will have access to new and improved plant varieties. In a Seed Talk Series presentation hosted by the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association (SSGA) on Feb. 11, seed growers and grain farmers learned that numerous new crop lines […] Read more
Decisions to be made as battle looms over acres
A monumental acreage battle is shaping up for this spring. Viewed in isolation, most grains, oilseeds and specialty crops appear to be a good bet for profitability and therefore an acreage increase, but there are only so many acres to go around. The Market Analysis Group of Agriculture Canada has taken a stab at predicting […] Read more
Grain stats reporting turns 100 in Canada
It’s been a century since the Dominion Bureau of Statistics began reporting where grain was stored in the handling system
Farmers, analysts, reporters, grain companies and grain buyers have been scouring the pages of the Grain Statistics Weekly report for 100 years. The first known issue of the report was published by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, the precursor to Statistics Canada, on Jan. 7, 1921. Back then, the report focused on where the grain […] Read more
Flax stocks tighten as EU demand set to rise
Black Sea exports make inroads in Asia, which has left a void in the European Union that Canadian shippers will likely fill
Canadian flax supplies will be tight at the end of 2020-21 despite increased export competition from the Black Sea region, says an analyst. Marlene Boersch is forecasting 77,000 tonnes of ending stocks, down slightly from last year’s 88,000 tonnes and well below Agriculture Canada’s forecast of 100,000 tonnes. The main difference between her estimate and […] Read more
Farmers demand revamp of export reporting
Saskatchewan farmers want more transparent and timely reporting of crop exports. A resolution made the rounds last week at the annual general meetings of a number of commodity groups calling on the commissions to lobby for the establishment of a weekly sales report, similar to what is produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Markets […] Read more
