A nitrogen-fixing bacteria species that indiscriminately colonizes plant cells is in the midst of an in-field exam. Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd), a bacteria known for its symbiotic relationship with sugarcane, was selected for research into nitrogen fixation in other crops by Edward Cocking, professor and director of The University of Nottingham’s Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation. And, because of a unique ability… Read More
Category: Audio
There were no major surprises for the corn and soybean markets in the USDA report published on Friday, however the wheat ending stocks projections were lower than the trade was expecting. The smaller stocks, together with funds short-covering, have provided some support to wheat futures over the last week, explains Austin Damiani, commodities broker with Frontier… Read More
Harvest continues to drag out, as farmers in parts of both Western and Eastern Canada cope with some less-than-ideal weather conditions. For this week’s ag news recap, we discuss harvest progress, the upward movement in the markets over the last week, how to communicate complicated science with the public and number of other things that happened… Read More
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000, with the merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation. “It’s a charitable foundation that’s based on two very important principles,” says Lawrence Kent, senior program officer. “The first one is that every life has equal value. And the second one is… Read More
I suspect there are more people who’d elect for a non-necessary root canal than would like to strike up a conversation with dad about when he’ll finally hand over the reins to the farm. And that’s too bad, really, because the sooner the conversations about long-term farm business planning begin, the better chance there is… Read More
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
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
It’s hard to believe it’s October already, but here we are. Another week of harvest 2014 is in the books. As part of our weekly ag news recap, we cover what happened in the markets, the possibility of millions of acres of land being opened up for cattle in Ontario, and the discovery of a new case of… 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