Columns & Production Tips

Canada Bread has been complaining that since the CWB was dismantled, sourcing consistent quality of wheat has been difficult.

Canadian Wheat Board is missed

Changes to Canadian grading and specification systems causing concerns

By Lee Hart June 3, 2016

Oh, boy… the Canadian Wheat Board may be coming back! Not likely, I am just being an alarmist, but it was interesting to read in our sister pub — the Western Seducer — where some bread manufacturers are mourning the loss of some features the CWB offered. I haven’t heard too many complaints about the […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Columns

Reporter’s Notebook: A guide to low-stress cattle handling

The first thing to know is that there is no such thing as low-stress cattle handling

By Lisa Guenther June 1, 2016

I help out with seasonal chores on my parents’ ranch, but I don’t think of myself as a “real” rancher. However, I think I’ve learned a few life lessons from working with animals. I’m not a stockmanship expert, but working cattle is basically about working their flight zones. You need to figure out where to […] Read more

Canola, Wheat & Chaff

Control volunteer canola with chemistry

Agronomy tips... from the field

By Sterling Mitchell May 31, 2016

You need to be aware of what you’ve seeded in the past to manage canola volunteers. Depending on the past canola system used, volunteers can come up with traits, including glyphosate tolerance, that you need to plan for when choosing a control option. It’s common to see several dozen volunteers per square foot emerge during […] Read more

I took this photo when we tried to move the herd to a different part of the pasture. They calmly arrived at their destination, then ran in a big circle, back to where we had started. It was weird. I think they thought they were escaping.

Beef Cattle, Columns

Reporter’s Notebook: Getting the hairy eyeball

By Lisa Guenther May 19, 2016

I have a few cows in my parents’ herd. But they barely outnumber my hay-burning horses, so I’d never call myself a cattle producer. I haven’t decided how many cows I’ll collect in the long run. Right now they’re an excuse to help with the larger herd and a little extra income. This spring my […] Read more

Children learn about fire safety at a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in the Humboldt, Sask., area.

Wheat & Chaff

Rural community promotes safety

By CASA May 19, 2016

Anyone who has ever worked with children has likely wondered at times if those children are listening and learning anything. One rural community knows for sure that their kids are listening and learning. On an annual basis, volunteers come together in the Humboldt, SK region to talk to school-aged kids about safety. The Progressive Agriculture Safety Days […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, The Dairy Corner

Dairy Corner: Tips for preventing selective eating

By Peter Vitti May 18, 2016

Recently, I attended the 2016 Western Canadian Dairy Seminar and took in several of the excellent presentations. One of the talks was by Tom Oelberg, who discussed the mixing of the milk cow’s Total Mixed Ration (TMR) as well as some of the improper diets that are often put down in the feed bunk. This lecture made […] Read more

This is a water well map for part of Tp 29 R13 W3, west of Milden, Sask. Legend: The “A”s next to well locations indicate that these wells date from before the survey, pre-1935. For the 2 wells that show a number instead of an A, the 74 and 70 indicate the year the well was dug. Next to the A or year, the top number shows the depth to water in the well (in feet); the bottom number shows the depth of the well (in feet). Where the circle is black, the well is assumed to be located next to buildings. Clear circles indicate that the well location is unknown within the quarter section.

Columns, Forages

The “other” moisture

Surface moisture is easy to measure: Moisture from the water table is another story

By Les Henry May 13, 2016

In making soil moisture maps as of freeze up the past few wet years, I have come to realize that we should have maps of areas where the surface moisture that we grow crops with has little or no connection to the water table. This piece adds a bit to that idea. In the 1980s […] Read more

Columns

Farm Financial Planner: Building up those off-farm assets

With a big farm and few takers from the next generation, a couple focuses on off-farm assets

By Andrew Allentuck May 12, 2016

On a 4,000 acre farm in southWestern Manitoba, a couple we’ll call Herb, 56, and Lorie, 45, grow grains and raise 600 head of cattle. They have been successful over the years with Herb and his brother buying the family farm in equal shares. That buyout provided Herb’s parents with a retirement income and gave […] Read more

Columns, Crops

The effects of soil compaction

In the first of a two-part series, learn how to diagnose soil compaction in your field

By Ross H. McKenzie May 10, 2016

Soil compaction can be a serious form of soil degradation resulting in decreased crop production and increased risk of soil erosion. Soil compaction can reduce water infiltration into soil, crop emergence, root penetration, crop nutrient uptake and water uptake — all of which can reduce crop yields. Compaction concerns Soil compaction is caused by tillage […] Read more

With the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board buying 40 per cent of Viterra, Lee Hart is hoping his share of the federal pension funds will turn a large profit.

Cereals, Columns, Hart Attacks

CPP needs your grain

It's good news: Viterra returns to the Canadian fold

By Lee Hart May 9, 2016

Well I am really hoping Canadian farmers get serious about being efficient and profitable and market all those No. 1 crops through the greatest grain handling company in Canada — Viterra. Hey farmers, no more dinking around with lacklustre yields and all that needless shopping around to the “other” grain buyers. Now that my Canada […] Read more

Daily Network News

Iran says Strait of Hormuz open as Trump sees deal ‘soon’ to end war

Agriculture groups welcome seed, fertilizer approval bill

AAFC projects tighter canola stocks for 2026-27