Category: Western Canada

This picture was tweeted by Gerrid Gust of Wheat Growers Fame. See the tweet here. According to the tweet string the neighbor was breaking ice. Gerrid made the comment that the neighbor would probably not be engaging in this practice ever again. With many dugout and ponds just getting a nice layer of ice, farmers... Read More

Agriculture has been on a roll for the last few years. Commodity and land values are up and interest rates are down — these are good times for farmers. How do you make the most of it? According to Dr. Danny Klinefelter, professor and extension economist with Texas A&M University, the time to prepare for... Read More

To say that soybeans are the hottest topic in Manitoba right now is an understatement. The excitement around the crop is perhaps eclipsed only by the recent opening of Ikea. The N-fixing crop is definitely turning heads and has many farmers asking how they can jump on the soybean bandwagon. And so it was, that... Read More

It's no secret that the striped flea beetle is a tougher opponent than the more common crucifer flea beetle. This canola pest tends to emerge earlier than the crucifer type and isn't as easily killed by commonly used seed treatments. That does not mean, however, that the striped flea beetle is resistant to neonicotinoids, as... Read More

Glencore International and Viterra Inc. have announced the sale of Viterra to Glencore has been completed. The acquisition brings Glencore immediate critical mass in the key grain markets of North America through Viterra’s substantial Canadian operations, the company says in a release. Viterra also materially expands Glencore’s existing operations in Australia. Fran Malecha, formerly Chief... Read More

Canada's Competition Bureau has approved the sale of Puratone Corporation to Maple Leaf Foods and Big Sky Farms to Olymel in a major step towards consolidation of Canada's and especially Western Canada's hog industry. The bureau said in a statement: "the Bureau concluded that the mergers were unlikely to lead to a substantial lessening or... Read More

Sir Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Over the last year or so, several significant changes and developments have occurred in the Canadian cereals sector – including most recently, the announcement by the federal government that the Canadian Grains Commission will move... Read More

Providing an optimal feed ration for each stage of cattle production takes planning, as forage and grain varies in quality and composition from year to year and from bin to bin. Feed testing is the integral first step to developing a balanced and complete ration. Optimal rations maximize feeding efficiency, which can help cattle producers... Read More

The 2012 growing season was a positive one for soybean growers in all parts of the Prairies. It was also very hot and dry in many areas at harvest. As such, the crop came off dry to very dry. Soybeans are prone to cracking under these conditions, and the cracks aren't always visible. The issue... Read More

There's no doubt that there are significant rules and regulations in place that farmers must follow in order to certify their production as organic. Canada has a rigourous organic standard, and organic farmers typically take several years to fully transition to the production system. In turn, Canadian consumers have more organic choices in supermarkets than... Read More