Wet conditions prevented normal fall fertilizer application in parts of Western Canada last fall, leaving growers looking at options for delivering nitrogen to this year’s crop. As Don Flaten, soil scientist at the University of Manitoba, explains in this episode of Canola School, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Growers will have to consider their limiting factors… Read More

Grain markets headed into the Easter holiday weekend on a bit more volatility, helping most futures stay in the green. Oats were the big winner, rebounding up 4.15% since last Friday, closely followed by 3.5% and 3.15% by soymeal and corn respectively. The U.S. dollar was the big loser of the week, down 0.6%, which supported… Read More

Globally, the big question in food production – the one that reverberates in any discussion about the future – is who will feed the increasingly hungry world, and how. Most of the focus is on Africa, and the growing population there. So the question goes: Who will feed Africa? Well, after spending two weeks with… Read More

We’re racing towards planting season, with field activity about to begin rocking and rolling, Lessons from the new world wheat yield record, the value of soil and subsequent impact of erosion, cover crop management, corn planter down pressure, and more — it’s all in this week’s edition of the Word the RealAg agronomist Peter Johnson…. Read More

Canadian durum exports to the home of pasta are facing a potential political trade barrier. Italy is moving toward implementing a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) policy for pasta, similar to the COOL rules the U.S. imposed on beef and pork from 2008 to 2015. The Italian government has drafted regulations that would require all pasta… Read More

Grains started the month of April with a little bit of follow-through fanfare from the USDA’s stocks and acreage report on March 31st and some speculation over the start of the North American planting season and end of the first South American harvest. For the week, canola was the winner, gaining 0.9% which was helped… Read More

Pulse Canada has formally joined its national canola and cereal crop counterparts in supporting the “Keep It Clean” program. The awareness initiative aims to inform growers of the impact that on-farm production and storage decisions can have on meeting export market requirements. “Farmers recognize that responsible use of crop protection products is critical to keeping markets… Read More

SeCan recently discovered that the majority of the soft white wheat varieties grown in western Canada naturally contain the Sm1 trait for midge tolerance. The trait has likely always been there, but only recently have we had the technology to test for it. The Sm1 gene was first identified as naturally occurring in soft red winter… Read More

Last week, I woke in the middle of the night to go north. Well, northwest, then north, then more northwest. It took over nine hours to get to Kapuskasing, a mostly mining and lumber town of about 9,500 people. Kap sits in what’s called the Great Clay Belt of Northern Ontario — approximately 16 million… Read More

Thirty-five vegetable growers in Manitoba are facing uncertainty after Canadian Prairie Garden Puree Products (CPGPP) entered receivership in late March. Court documents show the company owes over $9 million in debts, including over $1.5 million to the federal Agriculture Innovation Program and nearly $150,000 to the Food Development Centre at Portage la Prairie, Man. Earlier… Read More

If the word “biological” or “bio-stimulant” makes you think of fairy dust and unicorn hair, you’re not alone, but these once-mysterious and poorly-understood products are proving their worth in broadacre, commercial agriculture. For example, large, science-based companies such as Monsanto and Alltech have joined in to the business of biological field crop products that reach… Read More

This column is long overdue. It should have been written shortly after Trudeau announced plans for a mandatory national price on carbon emissions during harvest in early October. Or even earlier, when some provincial governments started announcing their carbon tax or cap and trade programs. For all the time that’s passed and words that have been said since… Read More

A farming couple from New Zealand has entered the book of Guinness World Records for growing the highest wheat yield on record. Eric and Maxine Watson of Ashburton harvested a 249.68 bushels/acre crop (16.791 tonnes/ha) on February 17. “We’re absolutely delighted to have set a new record – I feel a bit overcome in a… Read More

 

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