20:45 UK, 17th February 2011, by Agrimoney.com
Spring flood fears prompt drive to empty silos
The threat of spring floods, which is raising concerns about North America's spring wheat sowings, has prompted the Canadian Wheat Board, to accelerate pick-ups from farms of risk of inundated silos.
The board, the world's biggest wheat seller, is "proactively" putting on extra grain wagons to remove grain "as a early as late February" from on-farm storage in large areas of Manitoba and Saskatchewan at risk of floods during the spring thaw.
Concerns centre on the Red River, which flows north into Canada from the US, where official weather forecasters on Thursday raised estimates for peak flooding heights in many stretches.
"The Red River valley is forecast to flood at 2009 levels or higher," the board said, a reference to the thaw two years ago which took water levels to a record in parts of North Dakota.
The valley was particularly significant because "it is an extremely wide floodplain with significant grain storage", the CWB added.
Official jitters
However, provincial authorities in Manitoba, which have already sent ice-cutting machines to free-up icejam danger points, have also highlighted areas south of the Assiniboine River as at "serious" risk of flooding.
Saskatchewan, another major agricultural province, has highlighted the risk of floods in the north west and south east.
Concerns have been heightened this year by the limited ability of ground already saturated after a damp 2010 to absorb the quantities of snowmelt expected from the thaw.
'More worrisome'
In grain markets, the risk of flooding in what is a major spring wheat area, in both Canada and the US, has provoked fears sowing of the crop.
Indeed, wheat futures in Minneapolis, which trades spring wheat, earlier this week stood at a premium of more than $1.50 a bushel over those in Chicago, which trades the soft red winter variety.
"It will probably be a more worrisome spring than normal," Jonathan Watters at Benson Quinn Commodities said.
"There is the potential for there to be a longer period of wet fields."
However, the size of the planting window meant that crops would get sown, and that there was a risk of the threat being exaggerated.
"This crop will get planted. You can plant in late May, although sure, it can hurt quality."
Research by Mr Watters had found no historical correlation between spring flooding and planted acres.
Spring flood fears prompt drive to empty silos
The threat of spring floods, which is raising concerns about North America's spring wheat sowings, has prompted the Canadian Wheat Board, to accelerate pick-ups from farms of risk of inundated silos.
The board, the world's biggest wheat seller, is "proactively" putting on extra grain wagons to remove grain "as a early as late February" from on-farm storage in large areas of Manitoba and Saskatchewan at risk of floods during the spring thaw.
Concerns centre on the Red River, which flows north into Canada from the US, where official weather forecasters on Thursday raised estimates for peak flooding heights in many stretches.
"The Red River valley is forecast to flood at 2009 levels or higher," the board said, a reference to the thaw two years ago which took water levels to a record in parts of North Dakota.
The valley was particularly significant because "it is an extremely wide floodplain with significant grain storage", the CWB added.
Official jitters
However, provincial authorities in Manitoba, which have already sent ice-cutting machines to free-up icejam danger points, have also highlighted areas south of the Assiniboine River as at "serious" risk of flooding.
Saskatchewan, another major agricultural province, has highlighted the risk of floods in the north west and south east.
Concerns have been heightened this year by the limited ability of ground already saturated after a damp 2010 to absorb the quantities of snowmelt expected from the thaw.
'More worrisome'
In grain markets, the risk of flooding in what is a major spring wheat area, in both Canada and the US, has provoked fears sowing of the crop.
Indeed, wheat futures in Minneapolis, which trades spring wheat, earlier this week stood at a premium of more than $1.50 a bushel over those in Chicago, which trades the soft red winter variety.
"It will probably be a more worrisome spring than normal," Jonathan Watters at Benson Quinn Commodities said.
"There is the potential for there to be a longer period of wet fields."
However, the size of the planting window meant that crops would get sown, and that there was a risk of the threat being exaggerated.
"This crop will get planted. You can plant in late May, although sure, it can hurt quality."
Research by Mr Watters had found no historical correlation between spring flooding and planted acres.
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