A transition between weather patterns over the next three weeks will go a long way in determining the kind of weather we can expect for the rest of summer, while potentially offering some short-term relief in dry areas, according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. Lerner joined RealAg Radio on Wednesday to discuss his... Read More
Category: Western Canada
It's funny how word travels in today's social media world. Someone shares a photo or message on Twitter or Facebook and it can be instantly seen around the world. If shared publicly, you never know who's going to see or react to what you posted. Take, for example, this tweet by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture... Read More
The actual price of farm chemicals is often hidden from farmers using techniques like rebates, black box programs and price matching. That means Canadian farmers may be paying different prices to buy the exact same products. The lack of transparency in the ag chemicals market can add costs to an already expensive crop production essential.... Read More
Grain markets ended mostly in the red this week as the market dealt with some full-tilt planting progress and a few reports. There were some bullish ideas in Thursday’s May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from the USDA, but it didn’t seem like the market believed it! (much like other grain reports,... Read More
Four Alberta crop commissions that collaborate under the "Team Alberta" banner are speaking out against the University of Alberta's decision to grant an honourary degree to David Suzuki. The chairs of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Alberta Wheat Commission, Alberta Pulse Growers, and Alberta Barley sent an open letter to U of A president Dr.... Read More
Monsanto Canada has announced it plans to finally commercialize its TruFlex canola trait in 2019. TruFlex has been approved in Canada and awaiting Chinese import approval since 2012, along with several other canola traits. It's not clear what or if anything has changed, but Monsanto now says import approval from China "should be granted in... Read More
In another move towards automation, Claas has unveiled a system for automatic steering of cultivators in row crops. The Culti Cam uses a high-resolution camera to detect rows, and then adjusts the position of the implement, centring it between rows, independent from the tractor's steering. Using colour and 3D surface information, Claas says the camera... Read More
In 2013-14, the idea of nitrogen-fixing, non-leguminous crops hit the media big-time. UK-based Azotic Technologies was one of the companies making bold predictions, including that it expected to offer its commercial natural nitrogen-fixing technology, N-Fix, in two to three years. It's been five. So, where is it? In 2014, we spoke to David Dent, director... Read More
20/20 Seed Labs is pleased to offer the Sporometrics-designed Spornado to assist with the early detection of crop disease. Originally used in Ontario potato crops and now being rolled out across the prairies, Spornado is a passive spore catcher designed to catch both fusarium graminearum and sclerotinia spores. What can the Spornado detect? The Spornado... Read More
The beef markets are riding an unusually high basis in both Canada and the United States, but that's set to change. "So over the next eight weeks — between now and when June goes off — we will see the two converge," says Gateway Livestock's Anne Wasko, adding that in 2015 basis was +20 when... Read More