All farmers hate weeds. Especially weeds that are hard to kill. Weeds are yield-robbing nuisances that compete for valuable space in and out of the seed row. Some weeds are fairly easy to deal with and only create limited stress. But then there are those that seem to create havoc every year because they are... Read More
Category: Western Canada
While much of the attention in the last few weeks on the Canada-U.S. trade file has been focused on well-publicized trade irritants like dairy and softwood lumber, a U.S. Senator has introduced a resolution asking President Trump to address how U.S. wheat is treated in Canada. The resolution brought forward by Montana Senator Jon Tester... Read More
Despite the defence creating over-the-top, headline-grabbing statements in court and using arguments not based on science, Justice David Harris has acquitted activist Anita Krajnc on the charge of criminal mischief related to interfering with hogs while in transit. Justice Harris says activists can protest laws, but they have to do that "within the confines of... Read More
When U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his promise to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacfic Partnership, many people speculated the deal was dead in the water. Similarly, Canada has also faced threats of NAFTA withdrawal by the U.S. within the same three month period. For many of the remaining countries, including Canada,... Read More
Who is the most memorable person that you have had a chance to interact with? How about one of the wealthiest, most successful business people of a generation? This week in Seattle, Washington, Rob Saik of Trimble Ag Software (Agri-Trend) was invited to a symposium to present on the future of ag technology at the... Read More
When five provincial crop associations in Manitoba announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to merge earlier this week, there was one commodity group notably absent. The Manitoba Canola Growers Association has issued a statement, explaining why its board has decided to monitor the merger discussions, but not participate in the MOU. “Canola... Read More
We're kicking off May with wet, wet weather both at home and south of the border, and not one but two alerts for very early disease detection in Ontario's Bruce and Essex Counties. Peter Johnson, your host of Wheat Pete's Word, also has cautions on using saved soybean seed from the 2016 crop, why you... Read More
How powerful is popular culture? It has tremendous influence on much of our daily lives, impacting everything from food choices and diets, to exercise, and what products we buy. Many of these choices our those we make to help our families lead healthy lives. Dr. Timothy Caulfield would like to like to see governments, regulators,... Read More
If when you think of risk in farming you think only of uncontrollable things, like the weather and global trade, or only crop price slides, you've likely missed an opportunity to take a more proactive approach to risk management. While it's easy to get overwhelmed by 'what if' scenarios and all the different forms of... Read More
The wheat market rallied earlier this week after parts of the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop were pummelled by nasty weather. A blanket of snow fell on ripening wheat in parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Heavy rains have also caused flooding from Oklahoma to Indiana. "There certainly is some damage in the... Read More