
Weather

Another La Nina winter predicted
Polar vortex to chill Prairies, more snow further east, AccuWeather says
Data compiled by a U.S. federal weather forecasting agency show La Nina conditions have developed over the central Pacific Ocean and are likely to linger through February. And La Nina, in turn, is expected to produce hard cold snaps over the Prairies, above-normal precipitation over southern British Columbia and relatively mild temperatures with more snow […] Read more

Rains make sunny days for sunflower crops
MarketsFarm — Despite drought conditions throughout southern Manitoba decimating crops during the summer, late rain showers in some areas are improving harvests of one crop in particular. Precipitation in August helped improve the sunflower seed harvest in areas of Manitoba, with the province reporting on Oct. 13 average yields of more than 2,000 lbs. per […] Read more

White House not ruling out a U.S. carbon tax
Option 'not off the table' despite Manchin comment
Washington | Reuters –– The White House on Tuesday said it has not ruled out a carbon tax as a possible option for fighting climate change, even though U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout in the closely divided Senate, said he was not discussing the topic in talks about U.S. spending and infrastructure bills. […] Read more

No evidence trains sparked Lytton fire, TSB says
Transportation Safety Board now stepping out of ongoing fire probe
There’s no proof the fire that largely destroyed a British Columbia village, damaged a key rail bridge and led to cuts in rail speed limits in high-risk areas was sparked by train traffic, the federal Transportation Safety Board says. The TSB on Thursday said its investigation, launched in early July, “has not revealed any evidence […] Read more

Hay-starved Prairies fertile ground for online scammers
At least $64,000 lost in Alberta alone, RCMP says
High demand, scarce supplies and rising prices for hay and other feeds due to this summer’s drought on the Prairies have made a market for online scammers, RCMP warn. The urgency driving such transactions may cause ranchers, farmers and farm workers to make purchases “without taking time to properly verify or research production sources,” Alberta […] Read more

Brazil’s JBS bought 301,000 cattle from ‘irregular’ farms in Amazon, audit finds
Prosecutors 'negotiating improvements' with companies
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Nearly a third of the cattle bought by JBS SA in the Brazilian Amazon state of Para came from ranches with “irregularities” such as illegal deforestation, prosecutors found in a 2020 audit of the world’s largest meatpacker released on Thursday. In a presentation, federal prosecutors said they were “negotiating improvements” […] Read more

Prairie quinoa yields likely to be down this year
MarketsFarm — Shortly before the harvest of this year’s quinoa crop in Western Canada is about to start, expectations are for yields to be down from last year, according to Liam O’Halloran of the Northern Quinoa Production Corp. (NorQuin) in Saskatoon. “As well as everything else we had some areas that had a little bit […] Read more

Canary seed prices rise as production drops
MarketsFarm — This year’s canary seed crop in Canada will be smaller than expected, according to Darren Yungmann, board chair of the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan. “Overall, canary seed is one of the most susceptible to the drought when compared to other crops,” he said, noting it’s shallow-rooted and could not access any […] Read more

Mandated cuts in fertilizer use could be costly for Canada, report warns
Fertilizer industry study, based on EU plan, points to yield losses for corn, canola, wheat
Straight-up cuts in fertilizer rates — if imposed to help Canada meet its targets for cuts in emissions by the end of this decade — could translate to significantly reduced income for farmers, an industry group warns. Fertilizer Canada, the group representing manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors for nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur, on Monday […] Read more

U.S. spring wheat crop down sharply in 2021
MarketsFarm — Spring wheat production in the United States was down sharply in 2021, according to the latest annual small grains report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total spring wheat production was pegged at 9.01 million tonnes by the government agency, down 44 per cent from the 15.99 million tonnes grown the previous year. […] Read more