Robert Stwalley, a clinical associate professor in Purdue University’s department of agricultural and biological engineering, shows the hog cooling pad technology IHT has now licensed to make and sell in North America. (Photo: Tom Campbell/Purdue Agricultural Communication via Canada NewsWire)

Farrowing heat pad firm to bring hog cooling pads to market

Manitoba's IHT to offer new system next spring

A Winnipeg-area company providing heating pad and lighting systems for hog barns is set to add a U.S.-developed line of hog cooling pads to its product lineup. IHT (Innovative Heating Technologies) Group announced Thursday it will make and sell a line of water-cooled pads that use a patented system designed at Purdue University in Indiana, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market shrugs off lower barley production

Barley exports, domestic demand expected to be reduced

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$3/cwt on either side of unchanged. Prices for calves were also unchanged from average values seven days earlier. Calf markets are becoming more defined as volumes increase. There also appeared to be larger volume of high-quality yearlings available, which was a surprise. The drought hasn’t significantly […] Read more


Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (r) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrive at a press conference after their meeting in Sochi on Sept. 4, 2023. (Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

Turkey’s Erdogan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon

UN seeks to bring Russia back into deal

Moscow | Reuters — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal that the United Nations says helped to ease a food crisis by getting Ukrainian grain to market. Russia quit the deal in July — a year after […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids, futures take tumbles

Canadian dollar sees slight gain on week

MarketsFarm — Western Canadian wheat bids were lower throughout during the week ended Thursday, with Canada Western Red Spring wheat seeing the largest declines. Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its first model-based production estimates for 2023-24 on Tuesday. Based on data compiled up to July 31, StatCan estimated total Canadian wheat production at 29.472 million tonnes, […] Read more


Buhler Industries’ Versatile Nemesis 235 tractor. (Versatile-ag.com)

Buhler books bigger profit as supply chain issues pass

Company now seeking 'long-term investment partner'

The maker of Versatile tractors and Farm King equipment says the supply chain issues that have pressured its quarterly bottom line have begun to clear. Winnipeg-based Buhler Industries on Aug. 14 reported net income of $16.1 million on $67.6 million in revenue for its second quarter ending June 30, up from $1.1 million on $57.8 […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Putin to meet Erdogan amid push to revive grain deal

Turkey, UN seek to revive grain deal; Russia discussing separate plan

Moscow | Reuters — Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as Ankara and the United Nations seek to revive a Ukraine grain export deal that helped ease a global food crisis. Russia quit the deal in July — a year after […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat dips after earlier strength

Black Sea supplies weigh on market

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat prices reversed earlier gains to close lower on Friday, as markets weighed tight global stocks against the prospect of hefty Russian wheat production and efforts to renew a Black Sea grain deal. Chicago soybeans and corn also climbed after month-end positioning pushed futures lower much of the week and […] Read more

CME October 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease on softer cash markets

Trade watching for increased demand for hogs

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Friday, ending the week slightly lower as cash trade eased, though the cattle market continues to trade mostly sideways, analysts said. “The market’s basically saying — we’ve got stable trade right now for a couple months,” said Rich Nelson, chief strategist at Allendale […] Read more


(Video screengrab from University of Guelph/OAC video via YouTube)

OAC to offer new master’s program in plant agriculture

New program would run alongside research-based degrees

Ontario Agricultural College is seeking approvals to offer a new master’s degree in plant agriculture, which would designate plant science professionals operating at a grad-school level but not on the traditional research-based path. OAC said Wednesday its proposed new “master of plant agriculture” (MPAg) program would allow recent graduates and professionals to “quickly upgrade education […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Feed barley, wheat prices coming down

Feedlots' use of U.S. corn adds pressure

MarketsFarm — Despite a hot and dry summer across much of the Prairies, prices for feed barley and feed wheat have fallen off over the past month. The high-delivered bid for Alberta feed barley was $8.06 per bushel, $1.42 less than one month ago, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were […] Read more