Fortune Farms lost approximately five per cent of their production trees. Each tree would produce two one-litre bottles of maple syrup each season.

Derecho dealt a heavy blow to beekeepers, maple syrup producers

Extreme weather and climate change could impact insurance in the future

A path of uprooted trees and domino-effect toppling was the result of a Derecho that whipped through Jamie Fortune’s Almonte, Ont.- area maple forests last month.  “Practically, as maple farmers and forest managers, we respect natural forces, but they create danger and a lot of work and expense,” said the owner of Fortune Farms.  On […] Read more

Editorial: Preparing for the unknown

Until May 31, 1985 I really had no idea what a tornado was, or that wind could cause so much damage.  Like most young children in Ontario, I was blissfully unaware – and untouched by – severe weather. Growing up in the Niagara Peninsula, until that point in my life I had only experienced bad […] Read more

(Government of Alberta via Flickr)

Rains bring much-needed moisture to Alberta’s south

MarketsFarm — Rains across southern and central regions of Alberta were both much-needed and well-received during the week ended Tuesday. Both regions received 20 to 50 millimetres of precipitation, according to the province’s weekly crop report released Friday. The amount of rain that fell onto the south region was equivalent to the amount of precipitation […] Read more

(Vonkara1/iStock/Getty Images)

StatCan releases satellite crop vegetation data

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s crop condition assessment program (CCAP) on Thursday released its weekly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values from April 11 to May 29 — telling the tale of weather extremes in the Prairie provinces. As of the fourth week of May, seeding was 95 per cent complete in Alberta, compared to the […] Read more

(Creativex/iStock/Getty Images)

Environment Canada sees cool summer for Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan could be in for a cooler-than-normal summer, according to the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Tuesday, calls for a 40 to 80 per cent chance of below normal temperatures from June through August across all of the agricultural regions […] Read more



(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Planting progress picking up in Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — Overall spring planting across Saskatchewan reached 33 per cent complete as of Monday, according to the latest weekly crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture. Despite the good progress over the week, that’s still 20 points behind the five-year average. When compared to the excellent progress this time last year, the gap expands to 41 […] Read more

ICE July 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and November 2022 canola (black line). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Highs might be in for old-crop canola

New crop in 'a very uncertain stage'

MarketsFarm — The highs may be in for old-crop canola contracts on the ICE Futures platform, with attention in the market turning to the new crop. “I think the market has probably defined the upside potential and the acute demand rationing that needed to occur is done,” said Jerry Klassen, an independent commodity trader and […] Read more


CBOT July 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20- and 50-day moving averages (green and black lines), MGEX July 2022 spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2022 hard red wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat firm as worries about global supplies remain

Corn retreats, soybeans also firm

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rallied on Tuesday, even after India said it would allow overseas wheat shipments awaiting customs clearance, as traders focused on an unrelenting question roiling global prices: Where will the world get its grain? The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dipped early in the […] Read more

Flea beetles in canola seedlings. (Canola Council of Canada video screengrab via YouTube)

Eastern Prairies’ wet conditions may curb insect pest risk

Late-seeded crops may germinate more quickly in warmer soils

MarketsFarm — If there could be one benefit to the excessive moisture across much of southern Manitoba and the Interlake region, that would be a potentially reduced risk for insect pests, according to John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Resource Development. For example, Gavloski cited flea beetles, which could damage canola. “If [canola] […] Read more