The European Commission has granted a new five-year licence for glyphosate, with Germany breaking a stalemate that would have seen the herbicide de-authorized in less than three weeks. After falling short of the qualified majority needed for glyphosate's renewal earlier this fall, an appeals committee approved a five-year licence on Monday, with 18 countries voting... Read More
Category: Crop Production
The bushel is a critical unit in grain farming. It's used to describe volume in many contexts, including a crop's yield per acre, the amount of grain that fits in a truck or bin, and as a fundamental piece of information in grain sales contracts. But not all bushels are the same. More specifically, a... Read More
Weather events, political drama, and moisture concerns in the Dakotas and Western Canada. They're all factors that could move the wheat market in 2018. It's just a case of where, when and to what extend. In this report from the recent Grain World conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Matthew Pot is joined by Rhyl Doyle from... Read More
As Western Canadian farmers seek another crop to add to their rotations, seed and crop input suppliers are preparing for another increase in soybean acres on the prairies in 2018. The area where soybeans are being grown has expanded across much of Saskatchewan and into southern and central Alberta, creeping north of highway 16 near... Read More
A robot that zaps unwanted organisms with lasers may describe a character in a science fiction plot, but in reality, it's a technological response to farming with high labour costs. The Jäti is a battery-powered autonomous crawler built by a pair of German companies that is designed to identify weeds and destroy them with laser... Read More
A Guelph-based start-up company that has patented a process for isolating glycogen from sweet corn for cosmetic products is receiving $1 million in federal funding. Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield made the announcement at Mirexus Biotechnologies on Friday. "The new plant will allow us to produce our unique material for markets around the world, leading to... Read More
China's insatiable appetite for soybeans will continue to provide support for the oilseed crop through the next year. It will also be the catalyst for soybean acreage to surpass corn for the first time in 2018, says Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions. He shared his oilseed outlook during a panel discussion at the... Read More
The Canola Council of Canada is reviewing all the services and programs it offers, including staffing, as it prepares for a significant budget cut and restructuring in 2018. At least two large grain company and processor members are not willing to maintain their current funding for the council. Both companies that sources say are pushing... Read More
Construction of Manitoba's new pea processing plant at Portage la Prairie is on schedule for its planned 2019 startup. John Buch, grain department manager for French food ingredient company Roquette, builders of the plant, shared the news at the Grain World conference in Winnipeg, Man. When the plant opens, Roquette will have pea processing capacity... Read More
A soil sensor that can detect compaction from above the ground in real-time is enabling a concept described as "variable depth tillage" for targeting compacted layers. The Topsoil Mapper made by Austria-based Geoprospectors is an example of a real-time sensor allowing farmers to account for variability as their tractor passes through a field, rather than... Read More