Category: Western Canada

While the Canada Grain Act provides farmers with the right to order their own railcars, in reality there have been major challenges for many farmers and their administrators in securing access to producer cars for shipping grain over the last few years. One of the factors contributing to the producer car problem has been an... Read More

A total of $2.2 million is going to be spent over the next four years on winter wheat agronomic research in Western Canada, with the money coming from the federal government and several producer-funded and industry organizations. Lethbridge MP Jim Hillyer announced the federal commitment of $1 million to the Alberta Wheat Commission on Tuesday.... Read More

With findings of clubroot disease in parts of Western Canada where it has not been a problem before, at what point should a farmer in these new clubroot areas switch to growing clubroot-resistant canola varieties? To make that decision, you must first assess and prioritize the risks to your canola, suggests Anastasia Kubinec, oilseed specialist... Read More

To justify purchasing a new piece of technology for a farm, its value can’t be based on the “wow factor.” It must solve a problem and improve the overall efficiency of the operation. With that in mind, are farmers being sold more technology than they need? Should a producer have to pay for the cost... Read More

The Canadian government has announced $1.83 million for an research project involving international partners looking at potatoes and potato pests at a genetic level. Parliamentary Secretary Gerald Keddy, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced the funding Fredericton on Tuesday. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, researchers will use new data about the DNA... Read More

In the Canadian context, when someone says wheat, we think bread or pasta and maybe crackers and cookies. But for huge portions of the world's population, wheat means noodles, steam buns and dumplings. While all these products do come from the same crop, it's possible that each product requires a specific class of wheat, with... Read More

A wheat variety might produce huge yields or have stellar disease resistance, but if there's no market for it, there's probably no point in registering the variety for production in Canada. Instead, it might even have a negative impact, damaging Canada's reputation for consistency and quality. As Lisa Nemeth of the Canadian International Grains Institute... Read More

The occupation "farmer" shows up in more than a few Top 10 lists — like "The 10 most trustworthy roles," for example. But there's one Top 10 list that we'd all rather not have made where farmers hold the number 9 spot. That's the Top 10 list of most dangerous jobs in North America. It's... Read More

The board of directors for one of Canada's largest processors of special crops and pulses is considering its strategic options, including merging with another entity or selling the company. In an announcement made Monday, Legumex Walker Inc.'s board and management say they believe the share price for the company "has not been reflective of the... Read More

Have you seen the NIMBY principle in action? It stands for "not in my backyard," and it shows up in all manner of ways in agriculture — from the downplaying of potential problems, to perceptions on herbicide resistant weeds. How prevalent is it? In this second installment of Real Agriculture's podcast focused on herbicide resistant... Read More