Try to protect yourself from the possibility that spreads will continue to widen out before you deliver your grain.

Tough years can mean tough discounts at the grain elevator

After a difficult harvest, growers may find large discounts for tough or moist grain

This year’s difficult harvest means you have a lot of decisions to make. Should you harvest tough or damp grain? If you do, should you dry it or sell it at a discount? This year, some grain companies are offering premiums to producers bringing in dried grain, so that they can blend it with all […] Read more



Leverage and the fascinating world of stock options

While the world of stock investing is misunderstood, options are truly the great unknown

While the world of stock investing is misunderstood, this pales in comparison to misunderstanding around leverage or options. Leverage is the use of borrowed money to accelerate the purchase of a larger asset than you could purchase with cash. It is often possible to purchase real estate with as little as 10 per cent of […] Read more

Kildeer: This killdeer set up a nest among the asparagus. Those few plants were not picked and several eggs were successfully hatched. When we got too close the “broken wing” trick was played and photos of it were also possible.

PHOTOS: Les Henry: Wildlife on my Blackstrap farm

Almost all of my encounters with wildlife have been positive and occasionally photos have been possible. This is what I’ve learned

For 25 years I have owned land just a half hour drive south of Saskatoon, just east of Blackstrap Lake. In that time, I have had many wildlife encounters and observed several cycles of Mother Nature and her creatures. Wildlife conservation Some city slickers like to think farmers are bent on destruction of Mother Nature. […] Read more


Farm Panorama in Autumn

Farm Financial Planner: Keeping the farm and keeping afloat

Recently widowed Linda wants to keep the farm together with a viable tax plan

In north-central Manitoba, Linda is 75, recently widowed and wondering what to do with the family farm. She has 880 acres rented out for $1,500 per month for grain and pasture. Two sons in their 40s have off-farm jobs, but even if they wanted to go home and farm, there isn’t enough land for a […] Read more

The white thistles at the roadside and in the field near Edmonton in 2019 will either be severely weakened or they will die since they have no chlorophyll.

Bleached tops means bye-bye Canada thistle

Take a look in the ditches near you. A fungus may be infecting those weeds

Canada thistle is an invasive import from Europe. It is technically called Circium arvense, a prickly member of the Aster family. In the U.K., it’s called creeping thistle; in New Zealand it’s called Californian thistle, perhaps derived from Canada thistle. Canada thistle is also known in North America by a range of other names but […] Read more


Three things essential to farm safety

Three things essential to farm safety

In safety terms, competency is a combination of training, knowledge, and experience. In industries like construction, developing competency is fairly straightforward — an employer provides structured training, makes sure their employees pass tests and keep records of experience using resumés. On the farm, competency is just as important. A person is competent if they possess […] Read more

Getting ready for next year’s crop

Getting ready for next year’s crop

Q & A with Nutrien Ag Solutions

Q. As the 2019 growing season wraps up, what should I do to plan for 2020? A. As the current season ends, growers have an excellent opportunity to carry lessons learned into next year. Now is a good time to take stock of observations made from the swather or combine cab. Lodging may be an […] Read more


A container ship docked on the Port of Vancouver.


Toban Dyck: One country, one agriculture industry

A visit to B.C. to meet with ag writing peers and learn about B.C.’s ag sector

When you have crop standing on the field and the weather isn’t letting you get to it, it’s hard to think, let alone write, about anything else. But, I’ll try. I’ll put my remaining 120 acres of standing soybeans to the back of my mind. It’s raining here and I know that in theory it’s […] Read more