Kudos to municipal politicians who at least try to understand day-to-day farm issues. Of any elected officials, they should be closest to farmers. Rural and urban issues intersect at the municipal level to a great extent, even though we are an exporting nation, and even though provinces are immersed in supporting agriculture. Several provinces will... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Grain and oilseed prices through the middle of August continue to be depressed by anticipation of a bigger harvest. Specifically, on Tuesday, August 12th we got this month’s version of the USDA's WASDE report which came in somewhat bullish corn, despite production still being pegged at over 14 billion bushels. Corn prices were supported by... Read More
BASF recently announced it supports the use of ERAGON herbicide as a pre-harvest application on dry beans and soybeans for the 2014 growing season. Maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ERAGON as a harvest aid and desiccant have been established for the European Union for soybeans and dry beans, the company says in a press release.... Read More
Common beans, or dry beans, are native to South and Central America, but research efforts have been successful in providing varieties suitable for Canadian climates. A remarkably fruitful opportunity for growers, as North Americans tend to consume dry beans more than any other pulse. Research is ongoing, as we learned at the 2014 Select Grower…Read More
Deciding when to start swathing canola can be one of the most difficult calls you make at harvest. Too early, and you give up yield potential, too late and you can risk big losses. Knowing your hybrids, recognizing ideal swath-timing colour change and verifying actual seed colour, not pod colour, change will all go a... Read More
Ever wondered what it would be like to skim just above beautiful flowering sunflowers on a bright summer day? We can't arrange a real-life ride-along in a crop duster, but courtesy of Mark Rohrich and Jenny Dewey Rohrich at Maverick Ag and LaDelle George of LaDelle's Spraying service, based in North Dakota, you can at…Read More
Up until now, the Manitoba government has remained mum on the whereabouts of three canola fields that showed signs of clubroot infection in 2013. Farmers and agronomists had asked for more information regarding positive pathogen finds in order to better fine-tune best management avoidance practices. Today, Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Development released a map... Read More
It’s nothing personal, Stratego fungicide, but it’s time for a sprucing up. Winter wheat and soybean growers should soon have access to Stratego Pro, says Allan Kaastra, with Bayer CropScience. The new formulation swaps out propiconazole with prothioconazole, and should be available for farmers to use by 2015, pending appropriate regulatory approvals. Kaastra says Stratego... Read More
Whether it's the drop in commodity prices or the pace at which machinery sheds have been restocked in the past three years, global machinery sales have slowed considerably. On Deere & Co earnings call this week the company stated, For fiscal 2014, the company expects sales to decrease 6%, and to be down ~8% for... Read More
Cereals Canada, the newly-formed, industry-led cereals group, recently released its inaugural strategic planning document. The plan, available here as a PDF, sets out the vision and mission for the organization and defines a path forward for "sustainable profitability for the entire value chain." From opportunities and market development, to threats and competition, the 13-page document... Read More