AAFC’s Drought Monitor map as of Aug. 31, 2021.

Drought maps show little change at end of August

MarketsFarm — Much of Western Canada remained in some state of drought at the end of August despite widespread rains late in the month, according to updated maps compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The area mapped out as dealing with ‘exceptional drought’ in south-central Manitoba’s agricultural regions contracted slightly compared to the previous month […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Incoming corn pressures barley, wheat

MarketsFarm — Pressure from forthcoming corn imports from the U.S. have been driving down feed prices for barley and wheat in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to Evan Peterson, trader with JGL Commodities in Saskatoon. Meanwhile, prices in Alberta held steady. “We’re seeing some decent coverage right now on the feeder side. We’re waiting for the […] Read more



Cynthia Beck speaks about chronic stress and health during a webinar hosted by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

Prioritize your health during challenging situations

Basic self-care, awareness of stress responses and reaching out to others all key for dealing with difficult times

When faced with a crisis, prioritizing your physical and mental well-being is extremely important. “You are the number-one piece of machinery on your farm,” says Cynthia Beck, cow-calf producer at Milestone, Sask. and clinical psychology masters’ candidate at the University of Regina. Practicing self-care is vital, Beck explained during a recent Canadian Cattlemen’s Association webinar […] Read more


Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpeas find high-priced silver lining

MarketsFarm — Like many other crops across Western Canada, chickpeas weren’t immune to hot and dry growing conditions over the summer. This year’s domestic chickpea crop is only expected to weigh in at 63,000 tonnes, according to Statistics Canada — less than one-third of the five-year average of 189,600 tonnes. In Saskatchewan, some parts of […] Read more

Cynthia Beck speaks during a webinar organized by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. Chronic stress negatively affects our health and decreases our ability to be an asset to our operation. That makes managing it very important.

Chronic stress can affect health and decision-making

Understanding our body’s stress response can help us cope in healthy ways during difficult times

When a person takes unnecessary risks and makes decisions that are out of character for them, this could signal that they’re struggling with chronic stress. For example, the current frequency of bale theft across the Prairies might indicate that more people are “under a lot of chronic stress, and it could be impacting their decision-making […] Read more


Fed cattle prices see slight increase, beef demand strong

Fed cattle prices see slight increase, beef demand strong

The Markets with Deb McMillin, from the September 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Fed cattle After three weeks of hovering around $150/cwt, the average Alberta fed cattle price increased slightly by mid-August to $151.43/cwt. That is $17.32/cwt higher than one year ago when we were still working through the COVID backlog, and over $9/cwt higher than the five-year average. While sale prices are above last year, the high […] Read more

A corn crop near London, Ont. in July 2021. Relatively good yields down east may lead to more Prairie livestock feeders “jumping on the corn bandwagon.” (Farmtario photo by John Greig)

Feed weekly outlook: Crop estimates show severity of drought

'Corn bandwagon' filling up

MarketsFarm — Preliminary crop yield estimates released by Statistics Canada on Monday outlined just how severely the drought in Western Canada cut into production. Mike Fleischhauer, general manager for Eagle Commodities at Lethbridge, Alta., was not at all surprised by the numbers. “I think we knew that was happening all along,” he said. “There are […] Read more



(Viorika/E+/Getty Images)

Thunder Bay reports rare inbound grain shipment

MarketsFarm — Grain movement at the Port of Thunder Bay included a rare inbound cargo of feed wheat, according to the port’s latest monthly report. A 12,000-tonne shipment of feed wheat was delivered to Richardson’s Current River elevator from the company’s facility in Hamilton, Ont. The wheat was said to be destined for Manitoba feedlots, […] Read more