Weather systems tracking through the Prairies have also rained on the U.S. Midwest, but in smaller quantities.Most farmers there are upbeat about crop potential, given the early seeding dates and good moisture, but it is getting too wet in some places, which supported corn and soybean prices late week. Also, it was getting a little […] Read more
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Weather market warms up
Trade analyst warns farmer gains in EU deal ‘illusory’
A prominent trade analyst is warning that Canadian agriculture should temper its enthusiasm about potential market gains if Canada and the European Union sign a free trade deal.Canadian food and agriculture exporters have been telling parliamentary committees that Canada-EU trade talks scheduled to wrap up next year could open up hundreds of millions of dollars […] Read more
Australian farmers adjust to open market
Australia’s media has chronicled a rash of problems with the country’s wheat export marketing system since it was deregulated July 1, 2008.Problems include difficulties getting grain to port and concerns about the quality of wheat leaving Australia. Consequently, many Australian farmers long for the good old days of the single desk system. Michael Schaefer isn’t […] Read more
Alta. sour gas wells go ahead
Landowners in southwestern Alberta have lost a long battle to keep sour gas wells out of untouched territory.The province’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has approved a Suncor Energy-PetroCanada application to drill 11 sour gas wells and build a battery and two pipelines in the eastern slopes region southwest of Longview.“It’s really pristine, virgin country. […] Read more
CN loses dispute over switching
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against Canadian National Railway in a dispute over rail switching rules near Winnipeg.The court on June 21 upheld a February 2009 decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency that the exchange of cars between CN and BNSF Railway is interswitching as defined in the Canadian Transportation Act and the […] Read more
Internet helps keep short lines from being short-changed
REGINA – Short-line farm equipment manufacturers say dealership consolidation makes it difficult for smaller builders to get shelf space in the reorganized regional system.”There was a time, not so long ago, when there was a farm machinery dealer every 20 or 25 miles. Right now it is 50 or 60 and you might drive for […] Read more
Aussie farmers adjust to open wheat market
Deregulating Australia’s wheat market has been a triumph and a tragedy for Mark Hoskinson.The wheat grower from New South Wales says the loss of the single desk has been a blessing for a few corporate farms but a burden for most wheat producers.“The Australian wheat industry has been built on the back of the family […] Read more
Wet feet turning crops yellow
As he stood in a field near Carman, Man., recently, John Heard was surrounded by plants that were green and yellow.“We have wheat here that has yellow stripes, so what we have is technicoloured crops right now,” said Heard, a crop nutrition specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.Crops in the Carman area have yellowed this spring because […] Read more
Morris introduces sectional control seed cart
REGINA – Morris Industries debuted a form of automated sectional control to its seed cart systems at this year’s Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina. “We knew farmers were looking for the ability to shut off the sections of their machines when they are overlapping previously covered ground at the end of a field […] Read more
Downpour floods town, roads
Noelene McDougald had to hang up her telephone and run to save her lambs for the second time in days.She and her husband, Ray, ranch in the Cypress Hills about 10 kilometres south of Maple Creek, Sask.Typically, they face drought and heat, but not this year.“It’s like Niagara Falls,” Noelene said June 21 during a […] Read more
