The 2021 growing season affords many farmers an opportunity, perhaps unlike any they’ve experienced before — sky high prices and for some, a decent start to the planting season. Western Canada’s drought will take some of the wind out of the sails of those looking to generate record profit, but for many farmers, this year… Read More
With the expansion of domestic canola crush capacity in Western Canada, the term “renewable diesel” is being mentioned much more frequently. Many growers are familiar with biodiesel, but the two are different and not interchangeable. Although they can come from the same feedstocks, such as vegetable oil, the process of making them is different. Ian… Read More
What do hot air balloons, rodeos, and role models have in common? The answer is agricultural communications specialist Karen Lewis. As part of our series featuring women in agriculture in honour of International Women’s Day, we spoke with Lewis about how strong women in her life have helped shape her career in agriculture. Lewis makes… Read More
The post-COVID situation for the food industry may be a concern for the average consumer. The impacts might be most felt by the grocery and restaurant sectors and one has to wonder what the business might look like when we emerge from the pandemic. “It depends which country you’re in,” says Dr. David Hughes, emeritus… Read More
“It is hot!” says Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson in this episode of the Wheat School. And that heat is taking a bite out of wheat yields. Wheat is a cool season crop and does not like heat, so when temperatures start to climb yield can be impacted. The most critical stage is at filling. It… Read More
COVID-19 has really thrown a lot of the economic forecasting out the window for the Canadian economy. The big question is, how quickly we can get back to normal? Glen Hodgson, fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute at Toronto, Ont., joined Shaun Haney for a chat about our country’s economic forecast. The economy rode a… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Winnipeg, Man,. on Tuesday and took questions from reporters about what’s happening with Canada’s trade relations with China. Questions centred on canola, as earlier that morning it was announced China banned Viterra from exporting canola seed due to “hazardous pests.” Trudeau said, “We’re continuing to work very hard to try… Read More
It was billed as an invitation to celebrate the coming into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement For Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as Canadian Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr made the final stop of a cross-Canada tour with trade commissioners from Global Affairs Canada at Saskatoon. The event was meant to convey a… Read More
Should I or shouldn’t I plant soybeans this spring? This is a question on the minds of many farmers as we head into spring of 2019. For a few years, it looked like soybeans were going to take over many acres across the southern Prairies, but a couple of bad years for soybeans have caused… Read More
Things are looking up for the barley market. That’s the message from the SaskBarley annual general meeting held recently during CropSphere at Saskatoon, Sask. “I think the industry has never been stronger. We’re seeing huge exports on the feed side going into China, we’re strengthening in the malt side, both domestically and globally, and we’ve… Read More
The flax industry has had some tough years. Still recovering acres from the Triffid issue from a few years ago, this past year’s drought in the southern half of the Prairies also limited production. SaskFlax, however, has continued to move forward and plan for success. After the annual general meeting at CropSphere recently, Wayne Thompson,… Read More
What a difference a couple of years make. It was not that long ago Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SaskPulse) was sitting on a $30 million surplus and the projection was for the surplus to just get bigger and bigger. Now, after what may have been the most disruptive year in Saskatchewan’s pulse growing history, reducing the… Read More
The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SaskCanola) awarded Zenneth Faye its Canola Influencer Award earlier this week at the commission’s annual general meeting. Faye is being recognized for his pioneering work in Saskatchewan farm organizations and value-added industries. He served on the commission’s board and the board of the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association in its early days. He… Read More
Agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay attended CropSphere at Saskatoon, Sask., on Tuesday where he announced funding for four new science clusters. The clusters will represent barley, wheat, diverse field crops, and soybean, and are funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). The federal government will invest $39.3 million and along with $28.4 million in contributions from… Read More
When your livelihood depends on the weather, it seems like it’s never too early to start getting a handle on the forecast. James Garriss, historic climatologist with Browning Media, was a guest presenter at the recent SouthWest Agricultural Conference at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus. RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin had a chance to chat with… Read More