(Dave Bedard photo)

Flax production to drop with fewer acres, dry conditions

'Prices are definitely going to be climbing'

MarketsFarm — As with other crops on the Canadian Prairies, flax has been struggling with the hot and dry conditions across the region. That said, Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada at Yorkton, Sask. noted there’s very little doubt when it comes to flax prices increasing during the course of 2023. Presently, old-crop flax was […] Read more

Regan Ferguson tells of her experience using data on the farm near Melfort at Ag In Motion. (Jeff Melchior photo)

At Ag in Motion: Find a purpose, then buy tech, Prairie grower says

No matter how cutting-edge, digital ag needs to be a fit on your farm

Investing in digital agriculture can be a daunting experience. A producer’s best bet, one northeastern Saskatchewan farmer says, is to do your homework and find a purpose for it on your farm. “You have got to have the root purpose of why you got that technology. Either that or you talk to others to help […] Read more


Originally a tow-behind unit that attached to the back of the combine, the newer iteration of the Harrington Seed Destructor is a mill that can be integrated with the combine. (Photo: deBruin Engineering Pty Ltd.)

At Ag in Motion: Harvest weed control still in the mix

'You’re not going to spray your way out of this'

It’s a relatively new solution to the age-old problem of trying to get rid of weeds without broadcasting the seed or using increasingly less effective herbicides — mechanical separation and pulverization of weed seed. Harvest weed seed control might not be a golden bullet to tackle glyphosate-, fluroxypyr- and dicamba-resistant weeds, but according to Agriculture […] Read more

A Shanghai container terminal. (Chuyu/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Exports solid through 10 months

West Coast ports move to clear strike backlog

MarketsFarm — Canadian pulse exports continued at a solid pace through most of the 2022-23 marketing year, although recent disruptions on the West Coast may cut into the final total. Roughly a quarter of all Canadian pea exports, a third of the lentils, and all the chickpeas typically move by container, with a strike by […] Read more


The Chicago Board of Trade building on May 28, 2018. (Harmantasdc/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

US Grains: wheat futures end firmer amid Black Sea supply worries

Ukrainian officials said Russian air strikes damaged the port of Odesa

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures finished stronger on Tuesday after Ukrainian officials said Russian air strikes damaged infrastructure at the port of Odesa, a day after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain export deal. The strikes diminished some expectations that Russia may still renew the export deal, analysts said. Markets […] 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)

Insurers seen reviewing Black Sea ship cover after Russia quits deal

Last ship covered under deal left Sunday

London | Reuters — Insurers are reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine after Russia on Monday quit a UN-backed deal that allows the export of grain through a wartime Black Sea safe corridor, industry sources said. The agreement, brokered by Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global […] Read more


Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (r) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a joint statement in Kyiv on July 15, 2023. Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko

Grain shipping deal can operate without Russia, Zelenskyy says

'Blackmail is not allowed for anyone'

Kyiv | Reuters — The Black Sea grain shipment deal must continue and could operate without Russian participation after Moscow’s withdrawal on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, was a food source for 400 million people. “Africa has the right to stability. Asia has the right to […] Read more

CBOT September 2023 soft red winter wheat with Bollinger bands (20,2), MGEX September 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. September 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn fall as Black Sea grain deal expires

Grain traders hope pact may still be renewed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures fell on Monday as Russia’s exit from the Black Sea export deal failed to shock traders. Wheat and corn futures slumped after earlier rising to two-week highs when Russia announced it was leaving the agreement that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea. Russia had long threatened […] Read more


Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

UN waits for Russian answer as Black Sea deal deadline looms

U.S. says Russia using grain deal 'as a weapon'

United Nations | Reuters — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still waiting for a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain beyond Monday, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday asking him to extend the […] Read more

(Jimfeng/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. EPA denies nearly all biofuel blending exemption petitions

Refineries didn't prove hardship, agency said

New York | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday denied almost all outstanding petitions from oil refiners asking to be exempted from mandates that require them to mix biofuels into their fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has the authority to issue the exemptions, denied 26 petitions from 15 small refineries […] Read more