The phosphate market is going to get very competitive in the next 12 months. There are three new plants coming on stream by the end of 2011.
Kailin’s 600,000st per year DAP plant located in South China will be running by the end of 2010
Ma-aden’s plant in Saudi Arabia that will produce a 3 million st per year of DAP will be on stream by spring of 2011.
OCP-Bunge’s JV Moroccan 720,00st per year DAP/MAP plant is on target to open by the end of 2011
The new production has North American phosphate manufacturers starting to position themselves to defend their turf. I don’t believe that this new production will impact Canadian Phosphate pricing this spring (2011) but I expect to see it impact the 2012 crop year.
Tags: Canadian phosphate pricing, Kailin, Ma-aden, OCP-Bunge, phosphate market, phosphate pricing
In an attempt to spray a wet field, a Saskatchewan grower unfortunately got stuck.
Sprayer gets stuck in Saskatchewan.
To fix the situation, a track hoe was brought to pull the sprayer out. Without much success, it was decided to wait until the following day to try again. The next morning, ready to resume their efforts, this is what was found…
The morning after...
Sunk.
Tags: Saskatchewan, Sprayer
Here are more pictures of the blunder.
Failed attempt.
Submerged wheel.
Two track hoes down.
Livestock prices are a lot better than a year ago. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture publishes a Market Trends report that lists current grain and livestock prices versus the price one year earlier. A1 steers in Saskatchewan are currently listed at 90 cents a pound. A year ago, the price was 82 cents. D1 / D2 cows are a lot better at around 59 cents as compared to only 39 cents last year. With the fall calf run approaching, a lot of cow-calf producers will be following the price of feeder calves. The report lists the current price of 500 to 600 pound steer calves at $1.20 a pound, versus $1.09 last year. That’s roughly another $60 per calf. While that’s helpful, prices will have to increase further to provide a decent return. Many livestock analysts and observers believe cattle prices will indeed continue to strengthen. Look at the big turnaround in the hog industry. A year ago, Index 100 market hogs in Saskatchewan were around $95 per hundred kilograms. Now prices are in the $150 to $160 range. That’s the kind of increase cow-calf producers would like to see. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, cattle prices, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, livestock, Market Trends, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
A rising tide is supposed to raise all the ships, but some grain prices have increased a lot more than others. Wheat, durum and barley price expectations took a major jump yesterday in the CWB’s newest Pool Return Outlook. Top quality spring wheat is up by nearly $1.50 a bushel. The price expectation for No. 1 CWRS with 13.5 per cent protein is now an average of nearly $6 a bushel net Saskatchewan. The PRO on top quality durum saw an increase of just over a dollar a bushel. No. 1 durum with 13 per cent protein now has a PRO of just over $5 a bushel. Malting barley is up by a dollar a bushel and now sits at $4.13 net Saskatchewan. Cereal prices still pale in comparison to canola, which has been around $10 a bushel and flax which is quoted at around $13. Price quotes approaching 30 cents a pound are now being seen for top quality large green lentils. Crops that you’d have to rate as disappointing include peas, mustard and canaryseed. Yellow pea prices remain under $5.50 a bushel, yellow mustard is only about 24 cents a pound and canaryseed is struggling to hit 20 cents. While some crop prices are in the upper range of historical bids, others are certainly not.
I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: agricultural products, agricultural services, barley, Canaryseed, cereal, crop protection, custom application, CWB, CWRS, durum, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, grain prices, large green lentils, malting barley, Pool Return Outlook, precision agronomics, PRO, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, wheat, yellow mustard
I spent some time yesterday north of Humboldt looking at the greatly expanded lakes, washed out roads and rushing culverts. Thousands of acres of crop land and pasture have been lost to flooding. Some forty year old houses have water problems in their basements for the first time ever. Rural municipalities are fighting with the federal Department of Fisheries over the unwanted water that’s flooding farm fields.
Coincidentally, I received an email yesterday from a producer in the Humboldt area who says there are many local situations where more than 30 inches of rain has fallen this spring and summer. He says producers are already preparing to tow out combines which are likely to get mired in mud once the harvest begins. Grain carts are expensive, but in high demand because trucks will have difficulty navigating the soft fields. And everyone is looking ahead to the disaster that could be coming next spring. Given even a normal amount of snow over the winter, where is all the water going to go when the soil is already saturated?
I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: agricultural products, agricultural services, crop protection, custom application, Department of Fisheries, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, flooding, precision agronomics, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
With the growing season drawing to a close, the accumulated precipitation maps tell an amazing tale. Since April 1, there has been a record high amount of precipitation over about 40 per cent of the Saskatchewan grain belt. This record spills over into the east central region of Alberta and some northern parts of the Manitoba grain belt, but the majority of the record high area is in Saskatchewan. According to the maps published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the entire Saskatchewan grain belt has had above normal growing season precip. In the Prairies as a whole, the only area below normal is the Peace River region of Alberta. In fact, most of the Prairies have exceeded normal growing season precipitation by more than 120 mm, which is nearly five inches. The rainfall totals are incredible. Most parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have received over 400 mm. That’s over 16 inches. Many areas are over 18 inches and some are over 20. The traditionally dry regions are happy about the recharge of ground and surface water. Areas that often suffer from too much rain are wondering when their sloughs and lakes will ever recede. To view precipitation maps, just Google “Drought Watch” and go to the current maps of the Prairie region. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: accumulated precipitation, agricultural products, agricultural services, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, grain belt, Manitoba, precision agronomics, rainfall, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
There are major developments in the feed barley market. Drought in Russia and Ukraine and restricted exports from those major feed barley suppliers has meant a significant increase in offshore prices. Suddenly, the export market can compete with what Canadian producers are receiving for feed barley in the domestic market. Our domestic livestock industry is going to have to pay more or else substitute barley with corn or Distillers Dried Grains from the U.S. The Canadian Wheat Board says it has sold over 200,000 tonnes of export feed barley in recent weeks. Producers can enter into three way Guaranteed Delivery Contracts involving the CWB and a grain company. The CWB has a guaranteed in-store price and a delivery period. Producers negotiate the freight and handling with the grain company. The CWB says the most recent contracts have had a guaranteed price of $215 a tonne basis Vancouver. By my arithmetic, that should equate to prices of well over $3 a bushel in Saskatchewan. The CWB says contract prices have been continually increasing as new tenders are awarded. Producers can call the CWB to find out more or call elevator companies to see if they’re participating in any tenders. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: ag products, ag services, Canadian Wheat Board, crop protection, custom application, CWB, Distillers Dried Grains, Dynagra, feed barley market, fertilizers, financial solutions, Guaranteed Delivery Contracts, precision agronomics, Russia, soil fertility, Ukraine, Variable Rate Technology
This spring and summer has been a trying one in southern Alberta; and the fall looks to be the same way. With all the excess moisture, hail and stress crops in the DynAgra trading area are multi staged and late. So the question arises, “How do I harvest a multi staged crop?”
We had this same sort of problem last year because of the cold spring that we were faced with; and last year the yields and protein were quite good. We just have to manage the situation right. When you go out and look at your crop, you have to look at which stage of the crop looks the most promising and which one is most likely to make it to maturity before a major frost event. In canola, we have to take into account the shattering of over ripened canola and the green seeds in immature canola stand. And in wheat we have to worry about those immature green seeds making it into the hopper and then into the bin causing quality and storage problems.
There are products on the market to help with harvest management, such as glyphosate, Reglone and Cleanstart. The only chemical-aided option to dry down Roundup Ready Canola is Reglone, make sure not to apply Reglone too early to a canola stand, because it does not kill the plant but attacks the plant tissue and dries it down, so if the product is applied too early it can lock the green into the seed and it won’t ever turn color. For a Reglone application, you want to have 75% seed color change on the main stem at application time. A reminder that Reglone is just a desiccant and will dry the weeds in your field down but will not kill them, Reglone is registered for use on canola and peas as well beans and alfalfa.
If you choose to use a glyphosate as preharvest on canola you want to have 30% moisture or less on the crop. And for wheat once you can take a kernel and press it with your thumb nail and the imprint stays, you are at optimal preharvest timing.
But with any chemical-aided dry down be sure to be ready to combine once the crop is ready, usually within 7 to 14 days the crop will be ready to harvest. Any questions come into you local DynAgra for advice from our certified and experienced staff. Happy combining.
Yours in crop protection,
Tags: alfalfa, Canola, CleanStart, Dynagra, glyphosate, green seeds, hopper, peas, Regalone, Roundup Ready Canola
The long-anticipated Statistics Canada report on field crop production that came out on Friday has a lot of questionable numbers. As expected, there’s a big increase in Saskatchewan’s summerfallow acres due to all the land too wet to seed. Stat Can pegs summerfallow at 9.67 million acres, an increase of 5.5 million acres from last year. However, the provincial government has estimated 8 million acres were too wet to seed. On top of that, millions of acres that were seeded have been flooded out. When you compare the Stat Can estimates of seeded acres versus harvested acres, it’s tough to see where all this flooded land has gone. I also think some of the yield estimates are out to lunch. For instance, the Saskatchewan lentil yield is estimated at 1400 pounds an acre. Looking back at data all the way to 1998, that’s the highest lentil yield in all those years. I have a tough time buying that. While big yields are estimated on lentils as well as mustard and canaryseed, yield estimates are down substantially from last year in oats, barley, canola and wheat. After surveying 4,800 Saskatchewan farmers, Stat Can should have accurate production estimates, but I’m not convinced. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: agricultural products, agricultural services, barley, Canaryseed, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, field crop production, financial solutions, lentil, Mustard, oats, precision agronomics, production estimates, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Statistics Canada, summerfallow, Variable Rate Technology, wheat
