Category: Western Canada

For a portion of the west, winter has come early. The tail end of October brought a huge dump of snow to parts of Alberta that has, for the most part, stuck around. That begs the question, is this what we can expect for the rest of the winter? Compared to last "winter", this kind... Read More

In the last Pulse School episode, Dr. Bert Vandenberg, lentil and faba bean breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, outlined the market development challenges facing the faba bean industry. He noted, however, that the varieties farmers have to choose from are already a very good fit for much of the prairies. Duane Ransome, member relations... Read More

In what's possibly the largest single giveaway in agriculture history, Dow AgroSciences is just over week away from giving away a 2012 New Holland CR 9090. At www.keystothecombine.ca, farmers can enter to win by registering for their unique PIN number and participating in various contest activities to unlock a key. Farmers can then enter for... Read More

Recently, I asked if farmland prices had surpassed the point of profitability. The response was mixed — prices in some areas were listed as quite high, but often actual sales occurred at a lower, more manageable price. As balance, however, prices far beyond even the $15,000 an acre discussed have since been reported in areas... Read More

The macronutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur — get most of the attention when planning for crop nutrition needs, as they should, but more and more farmers are looking at a crop's need for micronutrients to reach maximum yield potential. Micros are needed in very small amounts but are critical for optimal plant health... Read More

Back in May, RealAgriculture.com's Shaun Haney asked David Morgan, Syngenta’s North America region director, "When will Syngenta get into the Canola business?" The answer, it appears, is now. Syngenta Canada announced today the launch of SY4135, a Roundup Ready canola variety. This one variety officially marks the company's entry in to the Canadian canola seed... Read More

The Canadian Seed Trade Association has a lot on its plate. Newly elected President Steve Denys will be the first to tell you that. The association is working toward directing government policies that will help Canadian producers thrive at home and compete abroad in a fast paced, constantly changing arena. We spoke to Steve at... Read More

Faba bean, a very-high protein pulse crop, did very well under 2012 growing conditions. In fact, in many of the areas where the pea crop struggled, faba beans did quite well. Faba bean averages around 30% protein, making it an attractive feed ingredient. It's also a common food ingredient in countries other than Canada. Bert... Read More

The vast majority of canola varieties grown on the Prairies are tolerant to some form of herbicide. Which makes sense, of course, as farmers immediately saw benefits to the technology and adopted the varieties en masse. But, like most things, there are trade-offs to the benefits of herbicide tolerance (HT). One of those is weed... Read More

The 2012 wheat crop looks quite good overall but tests so far have flagged some early problems in the crop: wheat midge damage, albeit at very low levels, is being found in samples from many areas of Manitoba not used to seeing the pest. Light bushel weights, a result of low moisture and high heat... Read More