Hot, dry summer cuts into Ontario potato yields

Hot, dry summer cuts into Ontario potato yields

While heat stress and storage issues remain a concern, recent rainfall and cooler nights could improve harvest quality

Ontario’s record-breaking summer heat and drought could cut potato yields by between 20 and 50 per cent in some fields but cooler nights and rainfall may help salvage harvest quality.

Winter wheat is up and growing well this fall in most parts of the province, including on this damp morning.

Great Lakes wheat YEN participants average 115 bushels

The top Canadian yield, and third highest was 160.2 bushels of wheat per acre

John Kilbourne of Ontario had the third highest yield in the Great Lake Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) in 2023 and 2024. The program is run by Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and the University of Guelph. Kinbourne had a yield of 160.2 […] Read more

Oats. (Greg Berg photo)

StatCan expected to raise estimate for oats production

Ending stocks estimate 'probably fairly accurate'

MarketsFarm — Ahead of the model-based Statistics Canada production report due out on Thursday, Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada in Yorkton, Sask. said it’s likely the agency’s numbers for oats will increase. StatCan issued its first model-based production report for 2023-24 on Aug. 29, which placed the country’s oats at about 2.429 million tonnes. […] Read more


(Keshin/iStock/Getty Images)

Quinoa production improves in 2022-23

Yields swing closer to average level

MarketsFarm — Compared to last year, Canada’s 2022-23 quinoa harvest has significantly improved, with yields exceeding expectations, according to Michael Dutcheshen of Saskatoon-based NorQuin. “Last year was a tough year for Canadian farmers for all crops, with quinoa no exception. This year is looking a lot more positive. We seem to have missed the hot […] Read more


(TDTT/iStock/Getty Images)

Oil content of Canada’s canola well below average in 2021

MarketsFarm — The average oil content of Canada’s canola crop came in well below normal in 2021-22, according to the final quality report for the year from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The average oil content came in at only 41.3 per cent for the year, which compares with 44.1 per cent the previous year […] Read more


Fall rye flowering in south-central Manitoba. (Allan Dawson photo)

Rye in strong position going into 2022

MarketsFarm — Last summer’s drought sharply reduced yields of many crops across the Prairies, leaving multiple supply challenges and rising prices in the aftermath. Western Canadian rye, however, was largely left unscathed, which may bode well for the crop heading into 2022. Rye production came in at 473,000 tonnes for 2021-22, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more

(Lentils.ca)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices steady to lower despite supply cuts

Lentil crop smallest in almost a decade

MarketsFarm — Just like many other crops in Western Canada, lentil production was cut sharply due to this year’s drought. Canada’s lentil crop was reduced by 37.2 per cent to 1.802 million tonnes for the 2021-22 marketing year, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) principal crop estimates from Friday. The total represents Canada’s lowest […] Read more