Category: Western Canada

With NAFTA negotiations underway, talk of new tariffs, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. at a critical juncture in its history, the U.S. capital was an appropriate setting for the Western Canadian Wheat Growers' 48th annual convention this week. The current trade and transportation issues, which are tied together in driving the export-based... Read More

Alberta has a unique part of the seed value chain in its Alberta Seed Processors organization. For many towns, the seed plant has been an integral part of the town's economy and, in some cases, even helped build the town. As Monica Klaas, with the Alberta Seed Processors, explains, though, the role of the seed... Read More

As the volume of grain backed up on farms in Western Canada grows, proposed transportation legislation that could help grain shippers address poor rail service remains stalled in the Senate. As it's written right now, Bill C-49 — originally introduced in the House of Commons last spring — would give grain shippers the right to... Read More

What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil... Read More

If drought concerns, disease pressure, or low commodity prices have you scratching your head on crop rotation tweaks, Alberta farmers have access to two, free crop planning and profitability programs offered by the provincial agriculture department. The first program, Crop Choice$, allows farmers to input their own costs and yield expectations, and is also fully... Read More

The traditional 3-point hitch assembly shifts most of the implement load on to the rear axle. We counter this with ballast on the front end of the tractor, which is not always precise, but is always added weight (a drag on efficiency!). Fendt looked at the problem in a less conventional way and came up... Read More

With commodity prices staying low and farmers facing higher interest rates for the foreseeable future, there is reason to be cautious about equipment sales moving forward, especially after 2017's mixed bag of results between Canada and the U.S. Some manufacturers, though, do see light at the end of the tunnel. At play in the optimism,... Read More

Tiles, tillers, and tests. In this week's episode of the Word, host Peter Johnson covers everything from tile drainage systems plugging with roots, to managing tillering in wheat, and variability in organic matter tests. Plus: even non-clay soils can compact... Have a question you’d like Johnson to address? Or some yield results to send in?... Read More