(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola rises ahead of USDA report

CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, as traders began to position themselves in anticipation of a U.S. report due out Aug. 12. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report “is certainly a factor” in the direction of canola, said Keith […] Read more

Stripe rust in wheat. (Yue Jin photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Manitoba rust diseases dissipate as fusarium appears

CNS Canada –– The spread of leaf and stripe rust in southern Manitoba appears to be over. The diseases, which generally target cereal crops, were thought to have blown up from the northern U.S. in late spring. Fields near Carman and Killarney both tested positive for rust in winter and spring wheat. Recent warm weather, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Lethbridge feed barley prices move upward, watch U.S. corn

CNS Canada — Hot, dry conditions in Alberta and western Saskatchewan are delaying and stressing this year’s barley crop — but action in U.S. corn is now the barley market’s primary driver, according to one expert. “This recent rally in corn has helped barley and feed wheat move higher; we’re in a market driven by […] Read more

Parched Prairie forages hang in under stress

Parched Prairie forages hang in under stress

CNS Canada — Sporadic rains and prolonged periods of dryness are taking their toll on forage crops in Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan. According to Terry Kowalchuk, a forage crop specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina, the eastern half of the province is managing, but the situation is worse in the province’s west. The western […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Drought creates speed bump for cattle herd expansion

CNS Canada — Expansion efforts in Canada’s cattle sector are likely taking a breather right now, as a lack of rain in Alberta and Saskatchewan creates challenges for ranchers trying to feed their animals. According to Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Inc. at Taber, Alta., some cattle in the western Prairies are already being moved […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Diesel prices seen softening soon

CNS Canada — Canadian diesel prices should go down between now and the end of the summer, according to a fuel expert. Since early May, the price of diesel across the Prairies has largely been in and around the 94-98 cents per litre range. Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service reported prices on […] Read more

(Bruce Fritz photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Sunflowers look good in field, flat in market

CNS Canada — While many Canadian crops are wishing for more rain right now, one expert sees sunflowers, primarily grown in Manitoba, doing relatively fine for moisture. “There’s no weather worries on sunflowers right now. A lot of the acres went in because it was forecasted to be a very dry summer, but it hasn’t […] Read more



Rusts enter southern Manitoba from U.S.

CNS Canada — While fusarium head blight and wheat streak mosaic have already popped up in Manitoba fields, a new strain of disease is making its presence felt in the province’s south. Stripe rust and leaf rust appear to have blown in from the United States. Pam de Rocquigny of Manitoba’s agriculture department said the […] Read more