Insights and Stories on Prairies

Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead

Jan. 22, 2020 at 6:00 pm CST

MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If […]

Most oilseed estimates down in USDA’s October outlook

Oct. 15, 2019 at 5:18 pm CDT

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm

U.S. grains: Corn, soybean futures ease

Sep. 27, 2019 at 5:20 pm CDT

By P.J. Huffstutter

Wet harvests hurt U.S., Canadian spring wheat quality

Sep. 20, 2019 at 7:03 pm CDT

By Julie Ingwersen

ICE weekly outlook: Canola breaks out of week-long funk

Sep. 11, 2019 at 8:03 pm CDT

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm

Rain gives farmers relief, for now, from three-year drought

Jun. 25, 2019 at 3:56 pm CDT

Winnipeg | Reuters — With drought turning Chad Ross’s pastures brown, the southeastern Saskatchewan rancher sent 140 head of cattle to slaughter earlier than usual this spring, as the Prairies’ three-year drought made them too expensive to feed. The ranch and feedlot near Estevan has lost money two straight years. […]

By Rod Nickel

Prairie drought reaches tipping point

Jun. 19, 2019 at 11:34 am CDT

MarketsFarm — The Prairie provinces have been under the influence of a large ridge of high pressure for a number of weeks, which has produced prolonged dryness with little precipitation. That high pressure system has pushed low-pressure, precipitation-carrying systems to the south, where the U.S. Midwest has already received significant […]

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm

Sunflowers doing well despite drought

Jun. 5, 2019 at 6:53 pm CDT

MarketsFarm — Though many producers bemoan current drier-than-normal springtime conditions across the Prairies, sunflower crops are primed for a good year. “As long as there’s enough moisture to germinate, they immediately grow a really deep root system,” said Ben Friesen of Scoular Canada. While Statistics Canada estimated the 2019 sunflower […]

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm

Prairies can expect unexpected from El Nino this summer

Apr. 12, 2019 at 7:43 pm CDT

MarketsFarm — The U.S. National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center on Thursday reported a 65 per cent chance of El Nino prevailing throughout 2019’s growing season. “A weak El Nino is likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer 2019 (65 per cent chance) and possibly fall (50-55 per cent […]

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm

Abrupt mid-March shift into spring predicted

Feb. 26, 2019 at 8:51 pm CST

Winter conditions are expected to remain the norm across the Canadian Prairies through the middle of March, when a sudden pattern change brings an abrupt start to spring, according to the latest seasonal forecast from The Weather Network. The quick move from cold to warm conditions raises the risk of […]

By MarketsFarm Team