Farmer Brian Derksen seeds wheat on May 2, 2017 near Miami, Man., about 80 km south of Portage la Prairie. (Screengrab from Allan Dawson video)

Prairie seeding off to ‘shaky start’

CNS Canada — Western Canada will likely see some favourable seeding conditions in the short term, one meteorologist says, though wet pockets in some areas need longer to dry out. “We are getting off to a little bit of a shaky start in some spots, but it looks like the weather pattern is going to […] Read more

Farm and pastureland east of Mervin, Sask. Seeding is nearing completion in northwest Saskatchewan, but lack of rain means topsoil conditions have deteriorated. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Guenther: Seeding in home stretch for dry NW Saskatchewan

Seeding is drawing to a close in northwestern Saskatchewan, largely due to warm, dry weather this month. On average, seeding in the northwest was over half done early in the week, according to the latest Saskatchewan Crop Report. Provincially, farmers are 51 per cent done, putting them miles ahead of the five-year average of 28 […] Read more

Canola at the cotyledon stage. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Prairie canola weathers early frost test

CNS Canada –– Despite freezing temperatures in some parts of Western Canada over the past few days, canola appears to be relatively healthy, according to crop watchers. While the true extent of freezing mornings that started last Thursday and stretched into the weekend isn’t yet completely known, two agronomy specialists from the Canola Council of […] Read more

Green peas. (PulseCanada.com)

Seeding underway in southern Alberta

CNS Canada — Alberta farmers are in the early stages of seeding this year’s crop, with operations expected to become more widespread over the next few weeks. “Southern Alberta is the most advanced, and (farmers) have been plugging away for as long as two weeks in some areas,” said Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with […] Read more



Excessive moisture from the May long weekend storm might trigger more crop insurance claims than the widespread frost. Snow just about buried this tillering winter wheat near Holland, Man. (MAFRD photos by Anastasia Kubinec)

Dawson: Moisture may trigger more Man. crop claims than frost

Excessive moisture in Manitoba from the Victoria Day long weekend might result in more crop insurance claims than frost. “From our perspective the amount of rain and snow that came with this storm is probably as big a concern as the frost itself,” David Van Deynze, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.’s manager of claim services, said […] Read more

The view from the AgriTeam site at Glaslyn in northwestern Saskatchewan. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Guenther: Reseeding already considered in parts of Sask.

While farmers in northwestern Saskatchewan are getting seed into the ground, warm weather tops their wish lists. Frost is “going to be our biggest enemy here, coming up this weekend, I think,” said Geoff Schick, assistant location manager for AgriTeam Services at Glaslyn, Sask., about 65 km north of North Battleford. As of Friday, weekend […] Read more

(Deere.ca)

Prairie farmers set fastest planting pace in a decade

Winnipeg | Reuters — Western Canada’s farmers are sowing crops at the speediest pace in about 10 years, which bodes well for an early, large harvest this autumn. More than half of the region’s farmland is planted, compared with the usual pace of one-quarter, due to dry conditions, said Bruce Burnett, weather and crop specialist […] Read more


Warm weather aids seeding, but winter still lingers

CNS Canada — A late spring snowstorm will delay seeding operations in northern Saskatchewan, but better weather across most other areas of the Prairies is allowing producers to make headway getting this year’s crop in the ground. Up to 30 centimetres of snow fell in and around Saskatoon on Saturday and Sunday, knocking out power […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola drifts downward in rangebound trading

CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts chopped around in sideways trading during the week ended Wednesday, before settling slightly lower. Activity was volatile with values generally staying within a $10 range, analysts said. Gains in the U.S. soy complex were responsible for much of the support canola saw over the five-day period, along […] Read more