(Dave Bedard photo)

December StatsCan report could vary from years past

CNS Canada — After this fall’s long, drawn-out harvest, some analysts predict Statistics Canada’s final Production of Principal Field Crops numbers could vary from the usual pattern. StatsCan’s report, due out Thursday, is a “very uncertain” report “because that was probably one of the most bizarre falls we’ve ever had on the Prairies,” said Ken […] Read more



Statistics Canada’s model-based report is based in part on data from sensors on the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of satellites. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), shown here for Sept. 16 over an NOAA satellite map of North America, is used to gauge surface vegetation content. (OSPO.noaa.gov)

Canola, wheat crop size hiked in StatsCan’s view from space

CNS Canada — Statistics Canada raised its production estimates for most crops across Western Canada in its latest report released Wednesday. Unlike traditional StatsCan reports using information gathered from phone surveys, the model-based report was based in part on coarse-resolution satellite imagery collected during the month of August. The model-based report has only been in […] Read more

A double rainbow over a Manitoba soybean field. (ImagineGolf/iStock/Getty Images)

Smaller Manitoba soybean crop expected

CNS Canada — Like most crops grown this year, Manitoba’s soybean yields were also highly variable in 2018. While early reports point to smaller production overall, lower-than-average yields won’t translate to higher prices, given prospects for a large U.S. crop. Manitoba soybean yields are “anywhere from 20 to 50” bushels per acre, said Mark Jorgenson […] Read more





A corn crop in the RM of St. Andrews in Manitoba’s Interlake region on July 5, 2018. (Greg Berg photo)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy rise on short-covering

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rose on Friday as traders covered short positions ahead of a long holiday weekend, but both commodities posted monthly declines as prospects for large U.S. harvests weighed on prices. Wheat climbed on technical buying, along with worries about tightening global supplies. Chicago Board of Trade December […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Questions remain over heat’s impact on 2018 yields

CNS Canada — Harvest came early for some crops in Western Canada this year. A few canola crops in Manitoba are already in the bin as warm temperatures and a lack of rain helped growers hit the fields quicker than other years. However, a hot and mostly dry summer on the Prairies has left many […] Read more