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
It’s a great year for winter cereals, not such a great year for canola, flax and canaryseed. The crop condition ratings in this week’s crop report from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture show that winter wheat and fall rye and looking great. Winter wheat is rated as 33 per cent excellent and 50 per cent good. Only 3 per cent is poor. By contrast, 23 per cent of the canola in the province is rated as fair, 13 per cent is rated as poor and 3 per cent is very poor. Canola is the crop with the lowest ratings, but it’s followed closely by flax, canaryseed and barley. The crop report also provides ratings for each region of the province. The northwestern region of the grain belt has the best crops overall. Canola is particularly strong in the northwest. The poorest crop ratings are in the northeastern grain belt. In that region, only one per cent of the canola is rated as excellent, 31 per cent is good, 33 per cent is fair, 29 per cent is poor and six per cent is rated as very poor. The best lentil crops are in West Central Saskatchewan, where 30 per cent of the crop is rated as excellent and 54 per cent is rated as good. Unfortunately, even most of the crops that are looking good are still one to two weeks behind normal in development. 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, Canaryseed, Canola, crop condition ratings, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, flax, lentils, precision ag, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, winter cereals
Complications from all the wet weather are dominating the inquiries to the Ag Knowledge Centre of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Producers have been asking about nitrogen losses and whether topdressing fertilizer might pay. It’s hard to give a clear cut answer, but cropping specialists are advising producers to scout canola and mustard crops for signs of sulphate deficiency. The symptoms usually appear in patches and include upward cupping of the leaves, yellowing between the veins of the earliest leaves, spindly plants and leaves with reddening or purpling on the underside. The fix is a prompt application of granular ammonium sulphate. More producers than usual are considering the aerial application of herbicides. Because of leaf diseases, producers are asking about mixing in fungicide with their herbicide application. Land rolling of pulses has also been delayed and producers are asking how late they can safely roll without causing yield loss. In some cases, producers are wondering about seeding crops for green feed or late grazing. The Ag Knowledge Centre says that on the forage side, there is growing concern that standing water and high humidity may make it difficult to harvest great-looking hay stands. 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 knowledge Centre, agricultural products, agricultural services, Ammonium Sulphate, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, Fertilizer, fertilizers, financial solutions, herbicides, Mustard, nitrogen losses, precision agronomics, Pulses, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, sulphate deficiency, topdressing, Variable Rate Technology, wet weather, yield loss
April and May have seen an unprecedented amount of rain over most of Saskatchewan and there’s more rain falling. Precipitation maps compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada show most of the grainbelt has already had more than two times normal precipitation this spring. Much of central Saskatchewan is at a record high. Only the southeast corner of the province is about normal for springtime precip. Everywhere else is above. The area of heaviest precipitation is within the borders of Saskatchewan. The amounts taper off as you move into Alberta and Manitoba. In this week’s crop report, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture is rating topsoil moisture on cropland as 54 per cent adequate and 46 per cent surplus. The surplus rating will rise as the rain continues to fall. The delayed seeding will no doubt cause some alterations in seeding intentions. There may be fewer lentil acres go in the ground and durum acreage could fall even further. On the other side of the coin, it’s reasonable to now expect more barley acres as well as more canola. It will take a while to get a handle on the magnitude of any acreage shifts. 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: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, barley, Canola, crop protection, custom application, durum, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, lentils, precision agronomics, rain, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
If the weather forecasts are correct, there’s going to be a lot of crop seeded later than what producers would like to see. The crop report from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture estimates 28 per cent of the provincial crop was seeded as of Tuesday. You can probably tack on another 10 per cent to account for progress in the past couple days, but the five year average for this time is 60 per cent complete. Within the northeast and east central regions, there are crop districts with very little in the ground. Environment Canada has rain, showers, or at least high probabilities in the forecast for most areas in the days ahead. Significant amounts are predicted for some locations. World Weather Inc. is calling for wetter than usual conditions across the Prairies for the next ten days. That report, available by subscription, details a series of weather systems that will impact the Canadian Prairies. Cropping plans will start to adjust, with producers favoring crops and crop varieties that have earlier maturity. Producers who are done earlier than the rest will have an opportunity to do some custom seeding to help out those rushing to finish. 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: Canadian Prairies, crop protection, custom application, custom seeding, Dynagra, Environment Canada, fertilizers, financial solutions, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, weather forecasts, World Weather Inc.
The crop report for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has seeding progress in the province at only five per cent, way behind the five-year average of 24 per cent. However, the five per cent number is a progress estimate as of Monday, May 10. A lot has changed in the past few days as areas dry out and producers take to the fields. It’s interesting to note that the region with the most progress is the northwest at 11 per cent. That’s ahead of the southwest at seven per cent and the southeast at six per cent. There’s generally been less rain in the northwest. On the other hand, in the northeastern region of the grain belt most producers had yet to begin seeding as of May 10. The difference in progress is even more pronounced in Alberta. The Peace River region remains dry and there’s been a great deal of seeding. Meanwhile, southern Alberta has been wet and progress is way behind normal. In fact, Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation has extended the seeding deadline for lentils and fababeans to May 25. The regular seeding deadline for getting crop insurance for those crops in Alberta is May 15, but rain and snow has made that deadline impractical. 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: Alberta's Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, Crop insurance, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fababeans, fertilizers, financial solutions, lentils, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, seeding deadline, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
After three years of disappointment, hog prices are back into profitable territory. Unfortunately, the hog industry in Saskatchewan has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Brad Marceniuk, a livestock economist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture puts out a regular hog market update. Index 100 market hogs in Saskatchewan are currently selling for $157 to $167 per ckg. For a change, most of the major market factors are favourable. U.S. pork exports have increased, there’s less pork in cold storage, and the Canadian dollar has softened a bit. Based on lean hog futures, Canadian prices should remain decent in the months ahead. However, the years of low prices have taken a toll. The Canadian breeding herd, sows and bred gilts, has declined by nearly 20 per cent since peaking back in 2005. As of April 1, the Saskatchewan breeding herd was only 85,200 head, down nearly 12 per cent from a year ago, and down 35 per cent from its peak in 2005. A few empty hog barns have been restocked, but there are lots of idle barns for sale at bargain prices. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: hog industry, hog prices, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
The first crop report of the season for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture includes estimates of which crops are going to increase in acreage and which crops are going to decrease. This is based on information from approximately 250 volunteer crop reporters. Durum acreage in the southern and central grain belt is expected to drop by 17 or 18 per cent. With the big carryover of durum and with terrible price prospects, I wouldn’t be surprised if durum acreage dropped even more than that. The crop report is calling for lentil acreage to be up 12 to 13 per cent in southern and central areas. Again, I think the magnitude of the change is being underestimated. Saskatchewan grew 2.3 million acres of lentils last year. A 13 per cent increase would only take the acreage to 2.6 million. Most analysts have been predicting 3.0 or 3.2 million acres and I wouldn’t be surprised if lentil acreage ends up at 3.5. For canola, the crop report is calling for a 10 per cent increase in the south, a seven per cent increase in central areas and a five per cent increase in the northern grain belt. Canola has more opportunity to increase in the south – the north is pretty much maxed out on already. Flax acres are expected to drop 7 to 8 per cent across the province. The best indication of seeding intentions will be the Statistics Canada report on April 26. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: Canola, durum, grain belt, lentils, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Statistics Canada
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has a spot on its website where it posts historical farm commodity prices. It’s interesting to compare prices with where they were a year ago. There are a few crops, such as large green lentils, where the price is actually a bit higher than a year ago, but on most crops, prices are substantially lower. Here are some of the comparisons that jump out. Currently, the price of flax is just over $8 a bushel. A year ago at this time, it was nearly $11. Yellow mustard is selling for about 25 cents a pound right now, while a year ago it was more than 37 cents. Yellow peas are selling for around $5 a bushel, which is about a dollar a bushel less than a year ago. D1 and D2 cows are a bit higher than a year ago. Feeder cattle prices are also a bit stronger. Hog prices have improved in recent months, but the price a year ago was actually better than the current price. However, about a year ago the pork industry was hit with all the negative publicity of H1N1 flu being inappropriately called swine flu and that ended the rally. Hopefully, the current rally has some staying power. The value of the Canadian dollar is a lot different than a year ago. We’re currently approaching par with the American greenback. A year ago, we were only around 80 cents. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: American greenback, Canadian Dollar, H1N1, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
Through the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, under the Growing Forward program, there’s a Farm Business Development Initiative. In my opinion, this hasn’t been well promoted, but up to $4,000 is available to help individual farmers engage private sector business services and/or access farm-related education and training programs. The farmer has to pay a minimum of 25 per cent of the consulting or training costs. The whole idea is to help farmers develop business plans and enhance business skills in nine areas - business strategy, marketing, production economics, human resources, finance, environment, succession planning, business structure and risk management. To get started, just contact one of the Ministry’s regional offices or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Moose Jaw (1-866-457-2377). The first step is to complete a “Taking Stock” booklet to help identify your needs. Then you can set up an appointment with your local Ministry of Agriculture Farm Business Management Specialist and the specialist will help you determine what services to access. Support of up to $4,000 to help pay for private sector business services and/or training programs is an opportunity many producers should be accessing. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Farm Business Development Initiative, Growing Forward program, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
