Insights and Stories on Weather

Apr. 11, 2012 at 4:30 am CDT

Drought concerns in Spain and Morocco could bode well for Canadian durum exports, as the two Mediterranean countries are both major producers of the crop. "The dryness in Morocco has been building since December, and we’ve seen it continue to build," said Stuart McMillan, a weather and crop analyst with […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Apr. 10, 2012 at 11:01 pm CDT

Corn-based ethanol’s dream days are over, says the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Starting this year, the industry will plateau at an annual output of 15 billion gallons (56.8 billion litres), marking the end of a seven-year growth spurt that saw its corn purchases grow by an […]

By Tom Button

Apr. 6, 2012 at 9:02 am CDT

Canola open interest on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform is within striking distance of establishing an all-time new record high, based on data from the exchange. Daily open interest in all canola futures months totalled 211,501 contracts on Wednesday. While that was down from the April 2 level of […]

By Dwayne Klassen

Apr. 2, 2012 at 11:30 pm CDT

Prairie farmers are expected to plant record canola acres this spring as the crop looks very profitable, but the tighter rotations may lead to other agronomic issues in the long run, according to crop specialists. After seeding a record 18.9 million acres of canola in 2011, Canadian farmers are poised […]

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Mar. 31, 2012 at 11:30 pm CDT

Farmers in the United States are expected to plant more acres to corn in 2012 than any year since 1937. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on Friday released its Prospective Plantings report, pegging expected U.S. corn acres in 2012 at 95.9 million, up four per […]