Russia, Ukraine may cut grain crop forecasts as temperatures rise

Moscow/Kiev | Reuters — Major Black Sea wheat exporters Russia and Ukraine may cut their official 2015 grain crop forecasts as recent hot weather has raised the risks to plants and rains elsewhere have delayed the harvest and dented quality, farmers and officials said. Russia and Ukraine’s agriculture ministries have said if hot weather persists […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. old-crop soy, corn stocks miss forecasts

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department on Friday cut its outlook for the supply of corn and soybeans that will be left over at the end of the 2014-15 marketing year by more than expected, sending futures prices sharply higher. But new-crop corn and soybean stocks came in above expectations due to large […] Read more


One concern is the increasing spread of alfalfa weevil.

Alberta’s alfalfa bug survey yields mixed results in first year

News Roundup from the June 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Year one of a three-year benchmark insect survey across Alberta yielded mostly good news and a few surprises, even for Alberta Agriculture entomologist Scott Meers of Brooks who is heading up the project. The biggest surprise was the sheer abundance of life in alfalfa fields. Sweep net samples of 100 sweeps each captured several thousand […] 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



(Lisa Guenther photo)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn rally ahead of USDA report

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures surged 2.9 per cent on Thursday on concerns that more rain in the U.S. Midwest would hinder crop development, traders said. Corn futures followed soybeans higher. Expectations that the U.S. Agriculture Department will trim its production forecast for both commodities in its monthly supply and […] Read more


Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies for week centred on July 1. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

U.S. forecaster sees El Nino likely into N. Hemisphere spring

New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday warned that much-watched El Nino conditions are likely to last another nine months, potentially roiling global crops and commodities prices. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center projected a more than 90 per cent chance that El Nino would continue through this winter […] Read more

Canterra, which has already worked with AAFC-bred CPSR varieties such as AC Conquer VB, has entered a partnership with AAFC and the Alberta Wheat Commission for future CPSR development. (Canterra.com)

CPSR wheat breeding program adopts ‘4-P’ model

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s breeding program for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat in Alberta is picking up new investment partners. AAFC, Canterra Seeds and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) on Wednesday announced they would jointly contribute $3.4 million over five years to Dr. Harpinder Randhawa’s CPSR breeding program at AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Centre. The […] Read more



French durum player on fact-finding tour of Canada

Saskatchewan durum growers may have an unexpected visitor this summer. Since early May, Quentin Renault has been visiting farmers in Saskatchewan’s durum basket as part of a two-year study into Canadian durum. Renault is a development officer with Durum SAS, a French company that markets French durum. Durum SAS also buys Canadian durum as needed […] Read more