Columns & Production Tips

North American weather conditions have been a little more extreme.

We’re in weather market madness

Weather drives grain markets. And this year, weather is also driving farmers to distraction

By Brian Wittal September 16, 2015

We have had another summer of weather extremes. It started in May with dry weather across the Prairies and parts of the U.S. plains, and excessive rains across large U.S. grain-growing regions. June brought hot, dry spells across the Prairies. Then we topped it off with rain, hail and tornados in July — almost the prefect recipe […] Read more

Columns

Getting government under the influence

Reporter's Notebook: Farm organizations use several different strategies to sway government decision makers

By Lisa Guenther September 11, 2015

Years ago I attended a public relations meeting on the topic of how companies and other organizations could influence government. I was a web editor with Alberta Agriculture at the time and wasn’t really a bureaucrat that anyone was trying to influence, so I’ve forgotten details. But the gist of it was that you influenced […] Read more

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Extinguish the risk of combine fires

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association September 2, 2015

Harvest is a rewarding time of year for farmers. There is nothing more satisfying than having all that hard work result in a successful and bountiful harvest. However, a combine fire can put all of that work and your safety in danger. A combine fire can mean lost time, property damage or worse — severe […] Read more

A heifer calf leaps to freedom after being ear-tagged and vaccinated, near Brightsand Lake, Sask.

Columns, Features

PHOTOS: Guenther: A few photos from my summer travels

By Grainews Staff August 7, 2015

It’s easy to see that Lisa Guenther takes her job as field editor to heart. If driving the provincial highways and rural roads to interview farmers and attend field days earned her “air miles,” there’s a good chance she’d be flying for some time. In this photo gallery, Guenther shares a few photos from some of her travels […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Irrigation: Past, present and future

During the past few wet years, irrigation projects have lost their urgency. Now is the time to refocus

By Les Henry August 7, 2015

This column has dealt with irrigation many times over the past decades, but this instalment deals mainly with the situation in Saskatchewan. Alberta is the big irrigation province where irrigation has been going for the longest but it has pretty well maxed out the acres that have water available. Manitoba irrigation deals mainly with potatoes […] Read more

Our peas were looking good (touch wood) on June 25.

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Don’t jinx it, but our crops look good so far this year

Wheat & Chaff: From the July 21, 2015 issue of Grainews

By Leeann Minogue August 5, 2015

I am afraid to write this sentence. Whatever you do, don’t read it out loud — that could send bad luck our way. But here it is: Our crops are looking good this year. This week, smoke from northern forest fires is even keeping the weather cool enough to help the canola flower nicely. If […] Read more

This farm property near Tilston, Man. was ripped up after a tornado raged through the area on July 27.

News, Weather, Wheat & Chaff

Be ready for severe summer storms

Some violent weather may have already crossed your path, but storm season is far from over

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association August 5, 2015

Everybody likes to talk about the weather. Nowhere is weather talked about more than in Canada. Everybody has had a conversation that starts out with the question: “Hot enough for you?” Farmers especially take weather seriously — after all fortunes are gained and lost due to the weather. Rain, hail, frost, wind, and snow all […] Read more

Cereals, Columns

How to haul your grain to the U.S.

Many farmers are looking at State-side selling opportunities. Sarah Weigum digs into the details

By Sarah Weigum July 31, 2015

Here in the brave new post-single desk world I hear a lot of curious chatter from farmers thinking about hauling their own wheat and barley to the United States. Of course, Canadian pulse and oilseed producers have always been allowed to sell their production to the U.S. so this is not entirely uncharted territory. Other […] Read more

Winter wheat can be a profitable addition to a crop rotation. It should be seeded into “clean fields,” with no actively growing volunteer cereals.

Cereals, Columns, Winter Wheat

Strategies for winter wheat success

With higher yields, winter wheat can be an economical addition to crop rotations

By Ross H. McKenzie July 29, 2015

I am a big fan of winter wheat. Its yield potential can be 15 to 40 per cent higher than spring wheat depending on environmental conditions. This can make winter wheat very economical in a rotation. Growing winter wheat is fairly straightforward. However, success depends on a number of specific management practices. 1. When to plant […] Read more

Dairy Cattle, The Dairy Corner

Test for, treat ketosis early in dairy cattle

It is easy for cows to slip into a negative energy balance and lose condition

By Peter Vitti July 6, 2015

Years ago, I would lean over the feed bunk and smell the breath of a ketosis-suspect dairy cow. It convinced me that it had either bad breath or glue (acetone) breathing ketosis. Since then, I’ve come a long way. Dairy nutritionists like myself and dairy producers now have access to modern BHB (Beta-hydroxybutyrate) milk tests through […] Read more

Daily Network News

JBS reaches deal with U.S. meatpacking workers who went on strike

Public consultation open on national beef code of practice

Pulse weekly: Indian forecasters predict below-normal monsoon