SASKATOON — Canadian farmers produced more flax than initially anticipated this year, says a trader of the crop. Statistics Canada estimates growers planted 503,200 acres of the oilseed, the smallest crop since 1949. Related stories: It is forecasting an average yield of 21.5 bushels per acre, which is very close to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s forecast of […] Read more
Tag Archives Flax — page 2
Flax pellet plans move back to Saskatchewan
Regina based Prairie Clean Energy is bringing its flax pellet facility home. After one year of using Hemp Sense’s pellet mill facility in Gilbert Plains, Man., PCE is preparing for a more local launch. It announced a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of $1.5 million on June 11 to buy the equipment needed to process […] Read more
Black Sea region expected to produce more flax
The crop is faring better than others in Russia's drought-hit regions, and acreage is anticipated to be higher than last year
SASKATOON — Black Sea flax growers are hoping for a rebound year. Acreage is expected to be up in Russia, although there are no official numbers yet, said Sergey Pluzhnikov, head of sales for Temporia Capital Company and founder of Russian Pulses Analytics. Related stories: Russian farmers planted 3.46 million acres of the oilseed last […] Read more
Flax acres down amid hope for renewed EU interest
SASKATOON — Canadian flax growers could regain some of the market share they have lost in the European Union in 2024-25, says a commodity broker. The European Commission has proposed higher tariffs on imports of cereals and oilseeds from Russia and Belarus. In nearly all cases, duties would rise to either $139 per tonne or […] Read more
Increasing flax yields faces genetic challenges
Researchers who want to optimize flax for seed production must backtrack on 8,000 years of agricultural development
SASKATOON — When Bunyamin Tar’an introduced a new flax variety, CDC Esme, to an audience of farmers, the question from the floor was immediate: what about the straw? “Similar to (CDC) Glas,” he said. “Almost all the plants have similar structure. A lot of the challenge with flax is that the straw is really, really […] Read more
Flax price stable as production woes continue
SASKATOON — Global flax production problems are raising prices in the European market but not yet in Canada. Oil World estimates global production at 2.94 million tonnes, a 21 percent reduction from the previous year. “Deteriorating profit margins induced farmers not only in Canada but also in Russia and Kazakhstan to shift to more lucrative […] Read more
Persistent crop estimate discrepancies lead to uncertainty
Sask. crop insurance acreage data is substantially different from Statistics Canada’s numbers for many small-acre crops
Pulse and special crops growers and traders should get used to significant discrepancies between federal and provincial agencies when it comes to gauging the size of the Canadian crop, says an analyst. The bulk of those crops are grown in Saskatchewan where the provincial government often seems at odds with Statistics Canada. “It’s going to […] Read more
Scoular expands flax plant
A major U.S. grain company has expanded its flax-processing presence in Saskatchewan. Scoular has installed high-speed processing equipment and expanded storage capacity at its plant in Richardson, Sask., near Regina. The company initially opened the flax plant in January 2022. It was the first new flax facility in Western Canada in nearly 10 years. Scoular […] Read more
Advocacy group promotes fibre
Saskatchewan produces plenty of different fibres, including fibre from sheep, alpaca, flax and hemp. Yet the market for locally grown natural fibres has remained small. Now, the Prairie Fibreshed Network wants to change that by connecting producers and consumers and spreading the news about locally made fibres, said Sonja Welford, Prairie Fibreshed’s treasurer and a […] Read more
Flax prices not expected to increase
Ag Canada expects 275,000 tonnes of stocks to start 2023-24 crop year, which is more than a typical export program
Flax growers shouldn’t expect much price action in the new crop year, according to traders. Prices have levelled off after plunging 36 percent in 2022-23 and that is likely where they will remain. Old and new crop bids for brown flax are around $14 per bushel f.o.b. farm for movement before harvest, according to a […] Read more
