ESN nitrogen on a field

Proper nitrogen application for your crop

Researchers and farmers have worried about the 4Rs of fertilizer for decades. The answers are not the same for everyone

In recent years there has been a great deal of hype about the 4Rs when planning fertilizer use: right source, right rate, right time and right placement. The first Grainews column I penned was in October 1976: “Nitrogen — when, what kind and how much to apply.” Back then, phosphorus was seed placed and nitrogen […] Read more



one dollar banknote among wheat grains

Farmers need a simpler grain pricing system

Building U.S. currency conversions into the basis complicates price comparisons. There may be a simpler way 


Since my last two articles on wheat basis calculations I have had some interesting conversations with producers and industry people alike. One call in particular from a gentleman who works in the grain industry in Eastern Canada was very enlightening. Apparently my article was forwarded to him by one of his co-workers at a facility […] Read more

wheat heads in hand

Everyone wants to be a farmer

City folk may not understand all the realities of farming, but many dream of doing it

It’s frustrating. I want my city friends to get it. I want them to understand how nuanced issues and trends like livestock production, genetically-modified organisms, fossil fuels, and eating farm-to-table are. It would be unfair to say city dwellers are vain, but I want to. Just as it would have been unfair of me to […] Read more


crop sprayer

Better weather information for better spraying decisions?

New technology allows farmers to have their own on-farm weather stations


In my last column, I wrote about how new technology sometimes scares the snot out of me (specifically driverless cars). But I’m not a complete Luddite, or neo-Luddite. I do have an iPhone, apps and all. Some of the apps I use most frequently during the summer are weather-related. I like to check if a […] Read more

stock market display

The difference between mutual funds and exchange traded funds

This look inside mutual funds and exchange traded funds shows how each of these investment types work, and how each of them handle risk

How do mutual funds really work? At the ground level, they are diversified collections of assets, usually stocks or bonds — sometimes both — in balanced funds, picked for their ability to generate income and/or capital gains. The key word is “diversified,” for that is their distinctive advantage. They are usually actively managed to seize […] Read more


grain filling a shipping vessel

Understanding today’s wheat basis

It’s not always simple to calculate the true basis these days. Here’s an example

In my previous article I was remiss in detailing the fact that there are costs for freight, elevation and handling that must be accounted for within the wheat basis that the grain companies post. To clarify a few things I am going to do a complete calculation of price, costs and basis levels starting with […] Read more

Soybean plants damaged by hail

Looking at the new crop insurance initiative from AFSC

Farming’s never stress free, but this new crop insurance program could help


Alberta farmers: are your dreams of growing coriander stymied by the perils of farming without insurance coverage? Would you try your luck with fields of clover if only there was a backstop in case of a drought or grasshopper invasion? Then the new crop insurance initiative (NCII) from Alberta’s Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) is […] Read more


soybean field

Who’s representing your soybeans?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This opening line of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice is still relevant today if we replace “single man” with “up-and-coming crop,” and “wife” with “industry association.” As soybean acreage grows, […] Read more

dairy cattle eating hay

Replacement dairy heifers need good nutrition

Feeding and management should be relatively simple

Many weaned dairy heifers have gone from eating high-quality milk replacer and calf starter in a nice cozy calf barn to being kicked outside in the arctic weather and being fed leftovers from the lactating cows. It’s a shame that many replacement heifers are fed in this way and thus fail to reach their full […] Read more