This week, the Auditor General published an evaluation of the federal government has implemented its climate plan for agriculture, and the results were not good. My initial reaction to this was not shock or surprise, as the targets seemed lofty, difficult to measure, disconnected from actual practices, and more designed to grab headlines than actually... Read More
Category: Western Canada
With a spring fire season that has fired up early and hot in Western Canada, there is no time like today to start working on a fire prevention plan. With most producers out in the field seeding, the risk of wildfires starting is high. In this interview, Kaia Fossheim of AgSafe Alberta reviews on-farm fire... Read More
Bunge's proposed acquisition of Viterra could result in more than $700 million in annual economic losses to farmers, according to a new report authored by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan. The study, conducted by Drs. Richard Gray, James Nolan, and Peter Slade, received research support from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), Alberta... Read More
It's not rare for a cow to conceive twins (though triplets are rare), but the odds of a cow conceiving quads is about 1 in 700,000. The odds of those calves being born alive is 1 in 11.2 million, give or take, but at least one Saskatchewan ranch hit the jackpot. Mark and Erin van... Read More
The premise behind why a good healthy plant stand is important when battling flea beetles in canola is simple: the fewer beetles per plant, the less likely they're going to damage more than 25 per cent of the total leaf area. In dry conditions, too much seed-placed fertilizer can hurt that plant stand and help... Read More
Clubroot has expanded its reach across the Prairies each year since it was first confirmed in a canola field in Alberta in 2003. Since then, the soil-borne disease has spread across the province and positive cases have popped up across parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. For Manitoba, what could have been a disaster of epic... Read More
Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops seeded at the same time (in one pass or two) that are then also harvested at the same time. The seeds are separated post-harvest, and the yield can, at times, out yield what each crop would have yielded on its own. But not all crops... Read More
The Government of Saskatchewan is providing $13.2 million to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in 2024-25, representing a $667,000 increase over last year, adding five new seats for Saskatchewan students. This funding is part of the government's commitment to subsidize 25 training seats for Saskatchewan students. Five of these seats are designated for... Read More
If there's one thing freshly-planted soybeans don't like, it's a cold drink of water. Soybeans are quite resilient to early season weather and cool soil, but a cold rain in the first 12-hours after planting can spell death to newly-planted soybeans. How does corn fare? Well, not much better, says RealAgriculture's resident agronomist Peter "Wheat... Read More
After two years of consultations, meetings, and research, Grain Growers of Canada has published a 10-point plan for moving the Canadian grain industry forward on its "Road to 2050." Grain Growers executive director Kyle Larkin says his organization has laid out what policy issues are most important to the success of the Canadian grain industry,... Read More