Not knowing what the weather will do is one of the great challenges when farming or ranching. While a producer can do everything within their power to ensure a successful crop, rain—or the lack of it—at inopportune times can spell disaster throughout the growing season. Weather and what it may look like for the coming... Read More
Category: Crop Production
If there's one thing that's predictable in the current grain markets, it's unpredictability. While farmers are not complaining about a trend reversal in the corn market to the upside, the uncertainty of what's at play in the market does create some stress. To unpack what's happened and what to watch for in the coming days... Read More
There are plenty of decisions to make ahead of seeding and planting, and sometimes those decisions revolve around what goes down with the seed. For this week's episode of Wheat Pete's Word, Peter Johnson talks boron for canola, AMS vs. gypsum, and starter-fertilizer decisions with dry soil and seedbed utilization in mind. Also in this... Read More
A valuable tool for managing insect pests, such as flea beetles and grasshoppers, is back in the toolbox for 2025. As reported earlier this month, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has effectively lifted a two-year ban on spraying insecticides containing lambda-cyhalothrin on crops that could be destined for livestock feed. Lambda-cy products, sold... Read More
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but how do you manage to tip the chance of gain in your favour? In agriculture there are many variables that are well out of our control — whether it be ranching, farming or anywhere in between, producers deal with volatile input prices, commodity price fluctuations, and, of course, the weather.... Read More
Capacity and flexibility are both important when it comes to choosing an auger that will help speed up moving grain at harvest. The Brandt 1345 B Series U-Trough, featuring a 13-inch U-trough, nearly doubles the capacity of a standard round-tube auger. In this interview at Crop Production Show at Saskatoon, Sask., Trevor Feicht of Brandt... Read More
Canada has experienced some economic growth since coming out of COVID, but our pace of growth and productivity is nothing to write home about. J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada, says that there is always low hanging fruit when it comes to improving productivity, such as adding efficiency, economies of scale, and producing... Read More
A high-quality wheat crop starts before the seed is even planted, by choosing the best seed lot possible. A seed with excellent germination, strong vigour, and freedom from and protection against key pathogens is more likely to achieve strong emergence and a healthy plant establishment. This year's seed quality reflects the growing conditions of the... Read More
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times — that pretty much tells the tale of the 2024 edible bean season in the Ontario and Manitoba growing areas. With a cool, windy spring, Manitoba Ag pulse and soybean specialist Dennis Lange says he never expected to see record edible crops in... Read More
Commodity markets have been digesting a tidal wave of What if? questions: What if China is buying? What if Trump imposes tariffs? What if acreage falls? What if China isn't buying? Ed Broshinski, market analyst with Cargill MarketSense, says that managed money has been working its way through these scenarios, and that canola, specifically may... Read More