Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn at Abbotsford, B.C. are rescued on Nov. 16, 2021 by people in boats and on a jet-ski after rainstorms lashed the province, triggering landslides and floods and shutting highways. (File photo: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)

Drought-stricken B.C. bracing for floods when rains return

Reuters — British Columbia on Thursday warned residents to prepare for flooding when rains eventually return after a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change that has raised concerns about long-term damage to ecosystems ranging from glaciers to salmon rivers. The usually rainy western province has experienced weeks of record-breaking warm fall temperatures and minimal precipitation […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan’s pulse harvest seen as average

MarketsFarm — As the harvest in Saskatchewan wraps up for 2022, pulse specialist Dale Risula said pulse crops were quite good this year — a definite improvement over last year’s drought-stricken production. “Overall for the province we will likely see average production this year, although some areas suffered pretty badly,” Risula said. He said there […] Read more


(File photo)

Manitoba to cut Crown forage lease rates

Previous years' forage conditions a factor, province says

The rents paid by Manitoba producers using Crown lands to produce perennial forages will be cut in half next year and by smaller amounts the following two years. Provincial Ag Minister Derek Johnson on Wednesday announced the forage lease rent on agricultural Crown land will be reduced by 50 per cent in 2023, 33 per […] Read more

CME December 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up on demand, tightening supplies

Hogs up on technical bounce

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Friday in tandem with higher equities and energy markets as a robust slaughter pace and concerns about reduced cattle supplies in the coming months fueled buying. Packers have accelerated their daily slaughter pace following plant downtime around Monday’s Labour Day holiday and they […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Ending stocks tumble due to drought: StatCan

Canola stocks are below 'pipeline levels'

MarketsFarm — Severe drought in Western Canada during the summer of 2021 has played a major part in reducing the stocks for Canada’s principal field crops at the end of the 2021-22 marketing year, according to Statistics Canada. Canada’s central data agency released a report Wednesday presenting total ending stocks for the country’s major crops […] Read more

File photo of wheat south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairies’ high-pressure ridge should give way by mid-month

Brisk harvest pace expected meanwhile

MarketsFarm — While there’s not one specific cause of the hot September the Canadian Prairies has generally been having so far, Weatherlogics chief scientist Scott Kehler notes one particular shorter-term factor. “There is a fairly strong upper-level ridge of high pressure across the Prairies right now,” he explained, adding it should dissipate by mid-month. The […] Read more


CBOT December 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn dips but still posts monthly gain

CBOT soy lower, wheat up

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures declined for a second session on Wednesday on profit-taking at the end of the month and mounting recession worries, but the market nonetheless gained eight per cent during August due to eroding U.S. and European crop prospects. Soybean futures ended lower after a back-and-forth session. But wheat turned […] Read more



(File photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Initial drought list ready for 2022 livestock tax deferrals

Much of Manitoba, southern Alberta designated for 2022

Many of the Prairie livestock producers forced by drought to make “difficult herd management decisions” in the 2022 income tax year are now eligible to defer the taxable income from those decisions. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Tuesday released the initial list of designated regions in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan where livestock tax deferral […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: StatCan shows big jump in pea, lentil production

MarketsFarm –– The Canadian pulse harvest appears to be making a comeback after production struggled with a historic drought in Western Canada last year. Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its July satellite image-based principal field crop production estimates on Monday, projecting sharp increases in production for most of Canada’s crops, including pulses. Canada’s dry pea harvest […] Read more