After three decades of fairly stagnant yields in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a renewed focus on agronomic practices with flax could unlock higher yields, says a former flax breeder who now works as a research consultant for the Flax Council of Canada. “I think that flax has been undermanaged to some degree, even with fertility,” says Paul Dribnenki in the… Read More

Sunflowers may rival flax for the honour of “prettiest crop,” but this brightly flowered food and oilseed crop has another rather dubious distinction — disease magnet. From the very ominous sounding phoma black stem, to the insidious sclerotinia, Real Agriculture caught up with Sam Markell, extension plant pathologist with North Dakota State University to talk… Read More

Testing for clubroot falls into an interesting classification — it’s a disease, yes, but it’s in soil. Do you send samples to a soil lab or a seed lab? In this edition of Under the Microscope, Holly Gelech, business development manager with Biovision Seed Labs, walks us through how labs test for clubroot and while… Read More

A high pressure ridge centred over western Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta will likely have a major influence on weather during the upcoming growing season in Western Canada, says the senior meteorologist with World Weather Inc. The impact from this wide ridge of high pressure will vary, depending whether you’re in front, underneath or behind it, explains Drew Lerner… Read More

Growth in the U.S. economy and the export opportunities that come with it are expected to offset some of the impact of low oil prices on the Canadian economy. The coinciding weaker Canadian dollar won’t hurt exports either, notes the chief economist with the Conference Board of Canada. “This is a good time if you’re… Read More

From new developments in Canada’s latest case of BSE to the need for more investment in rail infrastructure, here’s a quick audio snapshot of this week’s ag news — the TWORA podcast for February 19th, 2015: Mentions: CFIA Investigation Unveils Birthdate of Alberta BSE Case Corn School: My Standing Corn is Turning Black — Is it… Read More

Reflecting the explosion in soybean acres in the province over the last few years, the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association announced a change to its name during its annual general meeting at the Crop Connect Conference in Winnipeg. Going forward, the group will now be known as Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers. “Our organization has evolved… Read More

Nearly 700 farmers and industry braved a very cold few days to trek to Winnipeg to attend the second annual CropConnect conference. Guests were treated to expanded tradeshow space, engaging and sometimes controversial annual general meetings, dynamic speakers, improv and, well, some of the most burnt coffee this side of the Perimeter Highway. If you… Read More

Following the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk in 2012, new producer organizations were formed to lead market development and research for wheat and barley in Western Canada. In Alberta, the soft wheat and winter wheat commissions joined to form the new Alberta Wheat Commission, while the already-established Alberta Barley Commission assumed some new responsibilities. The… Read More