Columns & Production Tips

This photo was taken at harvest time: June 3, 2015.

Lessons in asparagus… and water

When a soil scientist grows vegetables, it soon becomes a lesson in the water table

By Les Henry September 12, 2016

Western Canadian farmers have two main ways to generate income: growing something that either goes through a grain auger or walks on two or four legs. But there are other things to grow. In 2002 I planted a small asparagus plot: 1,000 crowns of Jersey Knight male sterile hybrid imported from New Jersey. It is […] Read more

Location of Class 2 and 3 lands in Alberta using the Agriculture Canada Land Suitability Rating System. Alberta has no Class 1 agricultural land. Alberta’s Class 2 land is mostly located in the vicinity of Calgary.

Columns, Crops

Loss of our prime agricultural lands

Agronomy Management: In Western Canada, we're losing our most productive lands

By Ross H. McKenzie September 8, 2016

Soil and water are the most important sustainable natural resources in Western Canada. Both are essential to produce food and sustain human life. We hear a lot about the dwindling quality and availability of freshwater supplies, but society does not recognize the importance of soil. We continue to lose more and more of our best […] Read more

Canola, Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Be ready for canola harvest

Agronomy tips... from the field

By Michael Hutton September 7, 2016

When planning your canola harvest this season, remember that it’s never a bad idea to seed hybrids with a mix of maturity timings. This will allow you to space out your harvest timing as fields are coming ready. From a risk management standpoint, those different-maturity varieties will not be at the same susceptible growth stages […] Read more

Writer Lee Hart with co-operative brown trout, remembers the words “there is a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank looking like an idiot.”

Columns, Hart Attacks

A fish story, involving fish

When you're having fun, catching something is beside the point

By Lee Hart August 19, 2016

Here’s a new idea — go fishing and actually catch something. I know it is different, but I am an outside-the-box kind of thinker. As part of my personal Canada Day celebrations I hired a fly fishing guide with a boat and did a float trip on the Bow River east of Calgary. I had […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, The Dairy Corner

Dairy Corner: Rain can compromise good quality hay

Feeding and management options to consider

By Peter Vitti August 15, 2016

The other week I was driving in southern Manitoba and saw a group of dairy cattle grazing tall lush pasture. The grass was up to their bellies and I thought: “When was the last time that our pastures looked so good?” The next field had cut hay in wide swaths that looked rained-on and bleached. […] Read more

Man Suffering From Back Pain Whilst Gardening

News, Wheat & Chaff

When back pain becomes a pain in the neck

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association August 12, 2016

Aches and pains are common afflictions of everyday life. Stiff knees, sore feet and back pain are all too common. Back injuries can be chronic (long term) or short term and can affect everyone at some point in their life. Back pain, especially lower back pain, is a common work-related issue that affects many farmers […] Read more

Wheat & Chaff

Pulse desiccant dos and don’ts

Agronomy tips... from the field

By Carolyn Ruzicka August 5, 2016

The devil’s in the details when it comes time to desiccate your pea, lentils and chickpeas. And with pulses worth more than they’ve ever been, it pays to have as smooth a harvest as possible. Here are a few fundamentals to keep in mind: The first step is to determine the natural maturity of the […] Read more

Columns, Markets

The perfect (market) storm is upon us

Markets are roiling for many different reasons. Will you survive the ultimate storm?

By Brian Wittal July 29, 2016

In the movie The Perfect Storm, three different storm cells came together to create the a storm that George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the crew didn’t stand a chance against. I can see something of a version of that happening in the grain markets right now. Storm 1: Weather The uncertainty as […] Read more

Figure 1. A flat spade is used to level off the soil across several drill rows.

Cereals, Columns

How to find the seed in the ground

There is a better way to find your planted seed, and your anhydrous ammonia

By Les Henry July 27, 2016

When zero till seeding began in the 1980-90s, field days to demonstrate new seeders that could accomplish the task were common. Many colours of paint would make a pass down the field and farmers took off like gophers to dig around and find out where the seed was placed. A trusty garden trowel was the […] Read more

Columns, Guarding Wealth

Guarding Wealth: Are bonds the best bet for you?

Four secrets to buying bonds for your portfolio

By Andrew Allentuck July 12, 2016

Stocks flourish on good company news, a bit of inflation to push up prices, moderate growth in corporate earnings, and the optimism of investors looking forward to rising incomes and climbing profits. Bonds, on the other hand, are for pessimists. As economic growth slows, the demand for loans declines. Inflation subsides. In this atmosphere, bonds […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder market in price discovery mode

Keep it clean on pre-harvest chemical use

ADM Q2 profit falls to 5-year low amid trade turmoil

GFM Network News