CNS Canada – Total exports of Canada’s major grains and oilseeds hit a new record in 2017/18 (Aug/Jul), as sharp increases in wheat and barley more than made up for a decline in canola sales, according to the last weekly report from the Canadian Grain Commission for the recently finished crop year. Total exports of […] Read more
Canadian grain exports hit new record in 2017/18: CGC
Dry weather not a problem for malt barley crop, so far
CNS Canada – The prairie malting barley crop is faring reasonable well in the hot, dry weather, but crop watchers will have a better idea of protein content in a couple weeks. “We’ve yet to see what this crop is. I think we’re a little early yet. Indications are that it could be a little […] Read more
Feed barley defies expectations as prices rally
CNS Canada – Feed barley prices have no business being where they are, based on supply-demand fundamentals, but that hasn’t quelled the rally. With prices for old crop sitting a premium over new crop, most in the industry expected old crop would gradually decline over summer and the two would eventually converge. But dry weather […] Read more
Saskatchewan harvest underway: Report
CNS Canada – Harvest operations are underway in parts of southern Saskatchewan, according to the weekly crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture. Crops were reportedly rapidly drying down across the province, with many pulse crops being desiccated. Most crops remain in fair to excellent condition, although later-seeded crops need rain to help heads and pods fill, […] Read more
Heatwave ravages European fields, sending wheat prices soaring
Paris | Moscow | Hamburg | Reuters – Searing heat has devastated wheat fields across northern Europe while a combination of dry conditions and extreme rain in the Black Sea have hit output estimates, with prices soaring on fears of further crop damage. Evidence of serious harm to crops is growing as harvesting heads north in […] Read more
Wild genetic adaptations can have many uses
Science Notes: A gene that helps rice grow taller in floods is a variant of rice genes used to rapidly increase yield
When floodwaters rise, some rice varieties rapidly grow taller to keep from drowning. A new study identifies the key gene responsible for the deep-water rice adaptation — SD1 (semidwarf 1). It’s a variant of the gene responsible for the increased grain yield that launched the rice Green Revolution. The ability of this gene to function […] Read more
Wheat futures climbing higher
CNS Canada – North American wheat prices have rallied sharply over the past few weeks and could have more room to go, especially for higher quality and higher protein wheat. After trending lower for most of June and into early July, the Minneapolis December spring wheat contract settled at US$6.2275 per bushel on July 31, […] Read more
ADM earnings double, helped by U.S.-China trade row
Chicago | Reuters – Archer Daniels Midland Co’s net profits doubled in the second quarter and beat Wall Street estimates, after a drought in Argentina and the U.S.-China trade spat boosted the U.S. grain merchant’s trading and oilseed processing businesses. Shares were up 1 percent at $47.86 after touching a three-year high on the New […] Read more
German farmers seek 1 billion euros in drought aid
Hamburg | Reuters – Farmers in Germany need special aid of around 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) because of damage to harvests caused by drought and heatwave, the head of German farming association DBV said on Monday. The aid should be paid to farmers who have lost 30 percent and more of their harvests, DBV […] Read more
Crop scouting with your smartphone
Smartphone app uses machine learning to automatically identify crop diseases
An app that identifies weeds, insect damage and diseases could change the way crop scouting works. “The reality in field crop scouting for pests today is that looking for disease, weeds and insects is done often with textbooks and apps that make use of manual menus and you compare pictures,” said Warren Bills, business development […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
