After spending close to 2,500 hours over the last five years operating a sprayer equipped with optical spraying technology on his farm near Fisk, Saskatchewan, Carl deConinck Smith is not only an early adopter, but also a proponent of weed-sensing technology on sprayers. “Five years ago, we felt it was about a three-year return on… 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.
John Deere has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) that’s aimed at ensuring farmers and ranchers maintain the right to repair their own green and yellow farm equipment. The MOU, signed at the 2023 AFBF Convention in Puerto Rico this past weekend, is intended to secure “fair and reasonable”… Read More
The total number of birds on Canadian farms lost due to H5N1 avian influenza nearly hit the 7 million mark in the 2022 calendar year, with over 40 per cent of those birds affected in the last two months in southern B.C. Heading into 2023, the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is… Read More
John Deere unveiled a new sensor-based starter fertilizer placement technology for planters as part of the company’s keynote address at the CES 2023 tech industry show in Las Vegas on Thursday. The ExactShot system is designed to send out precise small bursts (approximately 0.2 ml) of starter fertilizer onto individual seeds as they are planted,… Read More
New demand for canola oil is driving a wave of expansion in canola processing capacity, and along with it, there’s going to be a large increase in the supply of the main byproduct — canola meal. The amount of canola processed in Western Canada is expected to grow by around 50 per cent in two… Read More
There are many ways crops can show they’re stressed, but unfortunately, the signs are often only noticeable to a human eye when a significant number of plants are in crisis. The potential for individual plants to signal stress before they begin to suffer is the reason why there’s some excitement around a company called InnerPlant,… Read More
The final tally hasn’t been published yet, but 2022 will go down as the new record high year for soybean yields in Western Canada, mainly southern Manitoba. Statistics Canada’s latest provincial estimate came in at 43 bushels/acre, up from 27 bu/ac in 2021 (see graph below), but Dennis Lange, Manitoba Agriculture’s pulse specialist, says he… Read More
There’s a lot of excitement in the canola industry about surging demand on the horizon as new crush plants are built in Western Canada. As canola agronomists and researchers gathered in Saskatoon last week for the Canola Week conference, sitting up front, as excited about and invested in the future of the crop as anyone… Read More
After committing $115 million in tariff proceeds to Ukraine, the deputy prime minister says she’s working with the agriculture minister to “resolve the situation” regarding the cost of 35 per cent tariffs applied to fertilizer sold to farms in Eastern Canada. Chrystia Freeland, who is also the finance minister, was asked about the fertilizer tariffs… Read More
It’s been two years since the federal government first announced its 30 per cent fertilizer emissions reduction target. That means more than 20 percent of the timeframe for farmers, agronomists, fertilizer suppliers, and researchers to work toward meeting the goal by 2030 has already expired. The clock is ticking, but there’s been very little progress… Read More
Eastern Canadian farmers who paid millions of dollars more for fertilizer in 2022 due to sanctions on imports from Russia will not be getting a refund, as the Canadian government is forwarding $115 million in expected tariff revenues to repair the power grid in Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the… Read More
The Winnipeg MP who served as Canada’s trade minister and as a representative of the Prairies in cabinet has passed away. Jim Carr, 71, passed at his home surrounded by his family and loved ones on December 12, according to a statement issued by his office. He had battled multiple myeloma and kidney failure since… Read More
Canola growers in Western Canada likely won’t have access to crop protection products that contain lambda-cyhalothrin — one of the main active ingredients used to control insect pests — in 2023, which means there are several factors that need to be considered in planning for managing insects, such as flea beetles and grasshoppers. Lambda-cy products,… Read More
The Canadian government is launching public consultations on the creation of a “Sustainable Agriculture Strategy,” which it says is intended to provide a coordinated approach to improving the agriculture sector’s environmental performance and sustainability. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, spoke at media event to kick off the consultations in Ottawa on Monday. “We… Read More
Not every acre in a field is the same when it comes to profitability. Some areas have high earning potential, while other areas are riskier, and possibly even costing money. As a wildlife biologist, those risky or unprofitable areas are what Mark McConnell is interested in. The Mississippi State University researcher made the trek to… Read More