Insights and Stories of Phil Franz-Warkentin

Conditions raise concerns over fusarium on Prairies

May. 11, 2011 at 11:00 pm CDT

Wet conditions delaying seeding operations across Western Canada this spring could leave wheat crops more susceptible to fusarium if the moisture continues through the growing season. Fusarium head blight is a fungal disease that attacks cereal crops, especially wheat and barley. It is usually most prevalent in Manitoba and eastern […]

Prairie grasshopper forecasts dialed back in wet weather

May. 10, 2011 at 6:57 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

StatsCan confirms tight canola stocks

May. 6, 2011 at 11:19 am CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

StatsCan seen confirming tighter stocks Friday

May. 4, 2011 at 5:50 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Good barley bids available, but activity slow

May. 3, 2011 at 12:00 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Man. farmers looking at corn, weather still key

Apr. 18, 2011 at 5:41 pm CDT

The ongoing “fight for acres” in the U.S., attempting to bring in more corn plantings, has also spilled north of the border, with Manitoba corn growers looking to increase their area of the profitable crop as well. However, corn needs a long growing season, and wet conditions now seen across […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Northern flow of U.S. DDGS stalled

Apr. 15, 2011 at 2:19 pm CDT

High prices and ample supplies of domestic feed grains are limiting the amount of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) finding their way into western Canadian cattle rations from the US. That situation is now expected to continue as long as the price spread between domestic wheat and barley and […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Barley cash bids edge higher

Apr. 13, 2011 at 5:30 pm CDT

Feed barley bids in the key Lethbridge, Alta. feedlot zone are trending higher, but ample feed wheat supplies should limit the potential upside. Seasonal issues were behind the firmness, as road bans and the fact that farmers will soon be turning their attention to spring seeding helped underpin barley bids, […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Parties support ag sector, differ on details

Apr. 11, 2011 at 4:42 pm CDT

The agriculture policies of all five major Canadian political parties were put front and centre in a debate hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in Ottawa on Monday. All of the parties were in agreement that agriculture was important to the country, but there was some disagreement on just […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Rising prices may encourage more oats acres

Apr. 7, 2011 at 12:43 pm CDT

Oats prices at both the Chicago Board of Trade and in Western Canada have rallied over the past week, which could help bring some more acres to the crop this spring. However, competition from other crops and weather issues at seeding time could still sway the market. After weather issues […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin