Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (second from left) and Nate Horner (right), her Alberta counterpart, during a tour of Olds College’s Smart Farm on Thursday. (Photo: Olds College/Sergei Belski, www.oldscollege.ca)

Alberta looks for feed, Ottawa promises cash for B.C.

Alberta to help with veterinary testing after B.C.'s lab flooded, Alberta ag minister says

Even though supplies are low because of drought, Alberta is looking for feed to send to B.C. livestock producers, while Ottawa will provide emergency financial assistance to farmers dealing with flooding and closed roads in the hard-hit province. “We’ve been working with the B.C. department of agriculture,” Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner said during a […] Read more

Standing corn north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Record imports of U.S. corn likely

Feeders will need to scale back barley usage

MarketsFarm — Canadian imports of corn from the United States are picking up and could hit a record this year, given the tight supply situation across the Prairies. The most recent export sales data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed Canada as the country’s largest corn customer during the week ended Nov. 11, accounting […] Read more


Thousands in B.C. still stranded by flood waters

'We are not out of this by a long shot'

Abbotsford | Reuters — Rescuers and workers in British Columbia were still trying to reach 18,000 people stranded on Thursday after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and bridges in what could be the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history. Receding flood waters were helping rescue efforts, but the downpour blocked off entire towns […] Read more

Floodwaters cover the Trans Canada Highway near Abbotsford, B.C. in an aerial view taken Nov. 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy BC Hydro via Reuters)

Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic

MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver. […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices among highest ever

MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices continue to push higher following a somewhat disappointing harvest on the Prairies this year, according to Glen Loyns, general manager of JGL Commodities at Moose Jaw, Sask. “We’re seeing upticks on all feed. Everything is up. You’re seeing high prices on wheat and barley. And you’re going to continue to […] Read more

While feeding corn is not new to cattle feeders in Eastern Canada, it will be a new experience for many feeders in Western Canada.

Drought plus high feed grain prices equals imported corn

Nutrition with John McKinnon

From a feed grain perspective, this fall and winter promise to be challenging for cattle feeders. At the time of writing, the 2021 western grain harvest was nearing completion. Traditional feed grain supplies (i.e. barley and feed wheat) will be tight. Furthermore, feed grain prices remain at peak levels and have shown no inclination to […] Read more


Photo taken in July 2021 on land Kenyon has been managing since 1999. It takes time to repair the land, but regenerative grazing can create resilience to drought.

The drought of 2021

From the Ground Up with Steve Kenyon

Well, that was one for the books. It will be referred to for years to come as the drought of 2021. I “herd” it was a one-in-100-year drought in my area. Hay production was about a quarter of normal. Pastures browned off in July. Dugouts and water sources are dry all over the place. We […] Read more




Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse weekly outlook: Winter price movement awaits chickpeas after harvest

MarketsFarm – Just like nearly all crops in Western Canada, chickpeas were not immune to drought conditions causing reduced yields. Approximately 64,000 tonnes of chickpeas were grown across the country for the 2021-22 marketing year, compared to the 214,000 tonnes grown in the previous year, according to last month’s production report from Agriculture and Agri-Food […] Read more