With three new cases in Manitoba over a two-week period in late September, there’s renewed concern about the spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. “We’ve been pushing it pretty hard that fall will be a tough season. We were expecting to have until November, but September was cool and wet, and those are the… Read More
Author: Kelvin Heppner
Kelvin Heppner, field editor for RealAgriculture, has been reporting on Canadian agriculture since 2008(ish). When he's not working on a story, he's usually in a chicken barn or a field, as he also farms with his family near Altona, Manitoba.
While corn, soybean and wheat markets are under pressure from heavy supplies, the outlook for the canola market is relatively tight. Canadian canola production for 2014 was pegged at 14.1 million metric tonnes in the Statistics Canada crop production report published Friday morning — a slight increase from the agency’s August estimates, but below the average… Read More
It’s estimated 70 to 80 percent of the barley grown in Western Canada was affected by heavy rains and snow in early-to-mid September. Factor in the 31 percent decrease in overall barley production estimated by Statistics Canada in its report out Friday morning, and the math is simple; barley that qualifies for malt will be harder to… Read More
With this year’s crop going into the bin at varying levels of quality, understanding the specs of what’s in storage could prove useful in shopping it around to buyers. There are a number of options for getting grain assessed by a third party, including the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program. Producers can voluntarily submit samples to… Read More
After trading at a significant discount to soybeans last year, contrasting production scenarios have resulted in canola gaining value relative to soybeans over the last few months. “Historically canola futures have traded $80, sometimes even $100 higher than soybeans. Last year was exactly the opposite,” explains Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research. “What we’re starting… Read More
The results are in. Wet weather early in the growing season and again during harvest took a toll on the quality of this year’s crop in Western Canada. Mildew is the most common downgrading factor in spring wheat this year, reports Daryl Beswitherick, Manager of Quality Assurance and Reinspection with the Canadian Grain Commission. “Last year,… Read More
The organization representing major grain elevator companies in Western Canada says it believes both Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) have failed to meet weekly grain shipping requirements for extended periods of time since the weekly minimum thresholds were implemented back in March. The federal agriculture minister confirmed last week that the… Read More
Beyond the “cool” factor, the value of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for farmers comes down to how they help them make more-informed decisions. That includes helping a producer understand plant stand counts across entire fields early in the growing season, explains Kris Poulson, CEO of Casselton, North Dakota-based North Country Ag Services. “If we just talk about… Read More
The concept of nitrogen fixation in cereal crops is getting some mainstream attention after a trio of 16 year-olds from Ireland won an international prize for their work with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in wheat, barley and oats. The prizes for the 2014 Google Science Fair — the world’s largest science competition for teenagers — were handed… Read More
After several months without any new cases, porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus has been found on two hog farms in Manitoba within the last week. The province’s Chief Veterinary Officer on Thursday confirmed Manitoba’s fourth on-farm case in a sow operation in the southeast corner of the province. Just six days earlier, PED was also… Read More
With a challenging harvest underway, it’s probably not be a high priority, but now could be the time to lock in prices for some of next year’s nitrogen fertilizer. Lower crop prices will place an extra emphasis on managing input costs for the 2015 crop, notes Mike Jubinville, president and senior analyst with ProFarmer Canada,… Read More
Larger farm equipment has its benefits on the field, but there’s also additional risk in getting it there, particularly when driving new machinery under old power lines. Just ask Gerrid Gust, a farmer from Davidson, Saskatchewan. During seeding this past spring, an air-drill from Gust’s farm snagged a power line over a main road in the… Read More
With all the excitement about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture, it’s important to understand the reliability of information collected by UAVs. Can we trust their accuracy to make farm management decisions? Beyond that, could UAV data tell us something before we see it on the ground? Researchers in North Dakota are evaluating… Read More
While new bilateral trade agreements present many opportunities, international trade is also becoming much more complicated for agriculture companies in the export business, say the authors of a report published by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (read the paper here.) With bilateral deals with the European Union, Japan and South Korea in the works, keeping… Read More
Wet weather during harvest has forced farmers across Western Canada and the Northern U.S. to take the crop off the field at moisture levels that are much higher than ideal for storage. While wheat is considered dry enough for long-term storage at around 13 percent moisture, in some cases, wheat has been harvested at moisture levels above… Read More