Insights and Stories on Weather

New fishery laws to exempt irrigation, field drainage

Apr. 25, 2012 at 3:22 am CDT

Federal rules governing irrigation channels, drainage ditches and field drains are expected to be loosened as the government moves to draw a new legal line between fish habitat and other bodies of water. Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield on Tuesday announced the government’s plans to amend the Fisheries Act and […]

Early Alta. seeding stalled by moisture

Apr. 18, 2012 at 5:22 pm CDT

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Ont. corn planting proceeding ahead of normal

Apr. 18, 2012 at 5:03 pm CDT

By Ralph Pearce

EU poised for wrecks in some rapeseed crops: reports

Apr. 17, 2012 at 6:00 pm CDT

Grain traffic backed to take Hudson Bay route

Apr. 14, 2012 at 8:00 pm CDT

By Dave Bedard

When it comes to weather, what IS normal?

Apr. 13, 2012 at 4:41 pm CDT

March 2012 gave Ontario’s crop producers unprecedented opportunities for an early start, from working the soil to planting spring cereals. There were even reports of a few acres of corn going in the ground on or near the first day of spring. For farmers in parts of the U.S. Midwest, […]

By Ralph Pearce

Morocco’s drought to support Prairie durum prospects

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

Corn ethanol production seen hitting plateau

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

ICE daily canola open interest nears record levels

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

Tightening canola rotations may pose problems in long run

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