Southwest Agricultural Conference

Stats Canada report has stocks of most crops down year-over-year

Statistics Canada released its report on stocks of major crops as of July 31. It shows total stocks of canola and barley were up compared to the same date a year ago, but stocks of wheat, oats, dry peas, and lentils were down compared to a year prior. Total wheat stocks as of the end of July were down year-over-year by 18.5 per cent to 4.6 million tonnes. Stats Canada says it was partially due to a lower total national supply. Total stocks of dry peas were 348 thousand tonnes, a decrease of 36.7 per cent, while total stocks of lentils were down to 179,000 tonnes. Oat stocks were down to 463,000 tonnes due to a lower harvest last year. Barley stocks were up 72.6 per cent year over year to 1.2 million tonnes. Canola stocks increased to 3.1 million tonnes. You can find the Stats Canada report on stocks of principal field crops on their

Cattle shortage squeezes auctions

Two Saskatchewan livestock auctions have closed this summer, and more could follow as a result of the declining cow herd. The Livestock Marketers Association of Canada (LMAC) said the major decrease in cow numbers, exacerbated by drought, has changed market conditions considerably. Fewer cattle to sell at live auction plus a lack of skilled labour are forcing the businesses to adjust. “Over time there’ll be some more auction marts closed across Canada, maybe not this year or next year, but it’s going to take a long time to rebuild and we may not get back to the numbers that we used to have,” said LMAC chief executive officer Rick Wright. Kelvington Stockyards closed Aug. 1 and Assiniboia Livestock Auction closed later in the month. It’s unknown whether either would re-open if cattle numbers rebounded. Both businesses announced the closures on their websites. Roy Rutledge, who at one time owned Assiniboia and was managing it for Nilsson Bros., posted on the website that the corpor

Alistair MacGregor no longer federal NDP agriculture critic

Richard Cannings, the MP for South Okanagan – West Kootenay, is stepping into the role

Prairie ag organizations join Global Agriculture Technology Exchange

Canadian ag organizations have committed almost $20 million to the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange

Bird flu outbreaks has CFIA advising against Canadian participation in US beef shows

With bird flu outbreaks popping up more and more in the United States, officials are asking Canadian producers to not bring their own cattle over in case of contamination. That comes as multiple producers will be unable to attend cattle shows below the border due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). In a release from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), they advised against " all Canadian cattle travelling to and participating in agricultural exhibitions in the U.S. at this time." While they state that they understand the traditional and business significance of these events, the current HPAI situation in the U.S. may pose a risk of introducing and spreading the virus into Canada. They especially call for producers to be wary of shows that include livestock from states that have seen bird flu outbreaks, such as Idaho, California, and Michigan. For those who still wish to attend cattle shows in the U.S., they remind producers that exhibitions may have t