The USDA published some larger-than-expected estimates for corn and wheat in its January reports published on Friday, but the futures market — particularly for corn — showed little response. The January 12th data release included the monthly WASDE report, the annual Crop Production summary, the December 31st quarterly stocks report, and the first Winter Wheat Seedings… Read More
Author: Kheppner
Drones are likely packed away for winter, but now is the time to take them out to perform battery maintenance. The chemistry inside lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries used to power most drones breaks down when kept at full or low charge levels for extended periods of time, reducing battery life and capacity. A battery that… Read More
India’s move to impose prohibitive import tariffs on peas, lentils and chickpeas has left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the pulse market heading into the 2018 growing season. After back-to-back bumper crops domestically, India implemented a 50 percent tariff on pea imports in November, followed by a 30 percent tariff imposed on lentils and… Read More
Manitoba farmers are being asked for their opinion and direction on the proposed amalgamation of five provincial commodity groups. After months of meetings between board and staff representatives, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers, Manitoba Flax Growers, the National Sunflower Association of Canada, Manitoba Corn Growers and Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers published their proposed… Read More
Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission members passed a resolution at the group’s annual general meeting at CropSphere in Saskatoon on Tuesday directing their board of directors to join Cereals Canada. While other provincial wheat grower organizations are members in Cereals Canada, Canada’s largest wheat-producing province is notably absent from the national cereal crop value chain association. The… Read More
Monsanto plans to expand its Xtend herbicide tolerance package, which combines tolerance to dicamba and glyphosate, in the coming years, adding other herbicide-tolerance traits, and introducing it to new crops, including canola. Monsanto, subsidiary The Climate Corporation, and The BioAg Alliance — Monsanto’s collaboration with Novozymes — shared their annual innovation pipeline updates in conjunction… Read More
Construction has started on a large pea processing plant in central Manitoba that’s designed to process more than 100,000 tonnes per year starting in 2019. The new processing facility at Portage la Prairie will undoubtedly boost demand for peas on the eastern side of the prairies, however, there’s a big question that has yet to be… Read More
Intercropping — the concept of growing multiple crops together (intentionally!) — can sound overwhelming, messy and complicated for many of us accustomed to growing one crop at a time. Which crops should be grown together? How do we separate them after harvest? Hang on, how do we harvest them? And seeding? How do you manage… Read More
With winter weather settling in across Western Canada and new rail legislation meant to protect grain shippers stalled in Ottawa, there are serious concerns that railways could fall further behind in shipping a larger-than-expected 2017 crop to market. According to data from the Ag Transport Coalition, which includes grain companies and some farm groups, CN… Read More
India has added two more pulses to the list of crops facing steep import tariffs into the country. The Indian government announced a 30 percent import duty on red lentils and chickpeas on Thursday, which takes effect immediately. It’s expected product already on its way to India will be subject to the duties upon arrival. “Production… Read More