A new report commissioned by the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation (SSGF) looks at the differences in profitability between cow-calf and annual crop production in southwest Saskatchewan. Over a 50 year time period, the returns from grain farming are $508/acre higher than cow-calf production, according to the research modelling… Read More
Author: Kelvin Heppner
Kelvin Heppner, field editor for RealAgriculture, has been reporting on Canadian agriculture since 2008(ish). When he's not working on a story, he's usually in a chicken barn or a field, as he also farms with his family near Altona, Manitoba.
The federal agriculture minister says she would like to move ahead on modernizing the Canada Grain Act before the end of the calendar year. The Act and the role of the Canadian Grain Commission in administering it have been the subject of multiple reviews and rounds of consultations, with no major changes going back to… Read More
A European corn borer (ECB) population in part of eastern Canada appears to have developed resistance to a Bt protein commonly used in North American corn hybrids for preventing damage from the pest. On April 27th, the Canadian Corn Pest Coalition reported a sample of ECB collected near Truro, Nova Scotia, showed reduced susceptibility to… Read More
The rule of thumb for planting soybeans in Western Canada has generally been to wait until the soil is 10 degrees C — often after canola is in the ground, but there are a number of reasons, including historical yield data, that suggest the crop would benefit from earlier planting. This Soybean School episode, recorded… Read More
Record yields in 2022 after a late start are raising some questions about the assumption that earlier is always better for planting corn in Manitoba and other northern growing areas. Historical averages in Manitoba show a downward trend in yield with each week that passes in May, but the 2022 crop set a new bar… Read More
Statistics Canada is reviewing the timing of its traditional April seeding intentions report, after making a major change to the way it compiled data for the report this year. The seeding intentions report for 2023, released last week, was based on a farmer survey conducted from December 12, 2022, to January 14, 2023. Historically, the… Read More
A group of 13 commodity and farm organizations representing grain shippers are calling on the federal government to move ahead with a commitment to bring back extended interswitching in the Canadian rail system. The 2023 federal budget included a promise to implement an 18-month pilot trial for extended interswitching. Interswitching allows a shipper that’s served… Read More
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) says wheat acres across Canada will be the highest they’ve been in more than twenty years, while area planted to canola, corn, barley, and soybeans will also climb in 2023. However there’s an asterisk beside those numbers, as the agency also announced a major change to the methodology behind its seeding intentions… Read More
It was 2004, less than a year after BSE hit the Canadian cattle industry, when Canada’s first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) devastated poultry production in B.C. Without any playbook on how to manage the virus, a decision was made to cull all the birds on commercial farms in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. While… Read More
The federal government should grant an immediate exemption allowing third-parties to carry out required inspections of grain shipments on the West Coast, says the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. The Canada Grain Act requires all grain exports leaving Canada by ship be inspected by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), but most of the CGC’s grain… Read More
Picket lines are up across the country as more than 155 thousand Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members began strike action at 12:01am ET on April 19. The union members on strike make up approximately a third of the federal public service, and includes employees of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Grain… Read More
What’s old is new again, or at least as relevant as ever when it comes to managing herbicide resistant weeds. Research led by Charles Geddes, weed scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, shows cultural practices — tighter row spacing, higher seeding rates, and longer crop rotations — can be just as effective as… Read More
Update, as of April 17: The Public Service Alliance of Canada announced a strike deadline on Monday morning. The union says more than 155,000 PSAC members, which includes staff with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Grain Commission, will begin strike action on Wednesday, April 19 if a deal cannot be reached by 9… Read More
After decades of debate among farmers and politicians, it took less than 15 months for the machinery of the federal government to dismantle — some might describe it as steamroll — the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk following the Conservative majority in the 2011 federal election. The behind-the-scenes of how former federal Agriculture Minister Gerry… Read More
“If I’d give any advice, I’d say don’t be afraid to ask questions…don’t ask a question because you know the answer. Ask a question because you genuinely want to know, and get their opinion and get their advice. And when you ask that question, when you explore that curiosity, you’re wiser, and the folks who… Read More