Data collected between 2008 and 2015 by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp suggests many farmers in the province are using tight rotations, or no rotation at all (coyly referred to as a “canola-snow” rotation). “The tight rotations that we are talking about — canola, wheat, canola, wheat — are in the northeast of the province and… Read More
A Manitoba tile drainage pipe-manufacturing facility is back in the hands of its original owners. Winkler, Man.-based Precision Land Solutions (PLS) announced today that it has re-acquired the high density polyethylene pipe-making plant at Winkler from Prinsco, which has operated pipe-manufacturing facilities across the U.S. since the 1970s. PLS originally established the plant in 2012,… Read More
Wide vs. narrow rows — which is best for top yields? As always, it depends. It depends on the crop you’re growing, your climate, and the architecture of the variety or hybrid you choose. There are other factors too, as discussed in this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, with host Peter Johnson. Available equipment, what… Read More
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) recently named Anne Loeffler as its 2020 Soil Champion. The award, which recognizes leaders in sustainable soil management, was presented to Loeffler for her encouragement of adoption of on-farm water quality improvement practices in the Grand River watershed. “The region has a large diversity of farmers and… Read More
With multiple wet harvest years in central and northern Alberta, many producers have invested in a grain dryer, or are certainly looking into it. Scott Keller, a farmer from near New Norway, Alta., recently dug in to the numbers surrounding the cost and benefits of owning a grain dryer. Keller first set up a grain… Read More
The University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy (SPP) has announced the creation of the Simpson Centre for Agricultural and Food Innovation and Public Education. The Centre is named after Calgary rancher and businessman John Simpson, who contributed more than $5 million to establish the school. “Several years ago, the school launched an initiative to… Read More
Canola growers across Western Canada now have a new option for their glufosinate-tolerant canola. The all new INTERLINE® Herbicide features a unique, high-quality formulation of glufosinate that provides outstanding crop safety as well as excellent flowability and minimal foaming. INTERLINE works incredibly fast, controlling a broad spectrum of annual and perennial grass and broadleaf weeds,… Read More
One of the questions that come up this time of the year, when it comes to the growing season, is — what do the pest forecasts look like for 2020? Boyd Mori, assistant professor in agricultural entomology, at the University of Alberta, was at FarmTech in Edmonton, Alta, and broke down the top 5 insects in… Read More
The Scoular Company has sold its edible bean business, which includes processing plants in southern Manitoba and the northern U.S., to a farmer co-op based in Michigan. Cooperative Elevator Co. is expanding its geographic footprint with the acquisition of Scoular’s edible bean operations, which includes processing facilities at Plum Coulee and Morden, Manitoba, and St…. Read More
Crop planning is well underway in the Prairies, and you may be in the middle of choosing what crop will go where. Of course, there are many things to consider, but looking at your soils is a large part — especially if you are growing pulses. Nevin Rosaasen, policy and program specialist with Alberta Pulse… Read More
Weed surveys conducted in the Canadian Prairies since the early 2000s have tracked the incidence of herbicide resistance over time, and it’s not looking good. “In general, what we’re seeing is herbicide resistance is increasing on the Prairies,” says Charles Geddes, research scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “Currently, we’re sitting at — in Saskatchewan —… Read More
Sweet potatoes are grown on 2,300 acres across Canada, and with breeding efforts now producing varieties adapted to Canadian growing conditions, the crop boasts the potential for greater profits and sustainability. Leading those research efforts is Valerio Primomo, a vegetable breeder based at Ontario’s Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. At the recent Ontario Certified Crop… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) has withdrawn its membership from national policy organization Grain Growers of Canada. GFO had only recently joined the organization in 2018, at the same time as SaskFlax and Productuers du Grains du Quebec. Markus Haerle, chair of GFO, says his organization left, in part, due to the lack of… Read More
Managing tough canola is… tough. Especially after the year that was 2019 — and for many parts of the Prairies, in the late season, it would not stop raining, snowing, sleeting — precipitating in any form. Canola is still being harvested and will continue into the spring again; but for those who managed to bring… Read More
Changes to the way pulse crop variety data is presented and shared with growers in Alberta has led to some confusion over where to find information on varieties to seed this spring. For 2020, the Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) provided only one year of data set to the Alberta Seed Growers (ASG), which publishes the… Read More