Some areas of Western Canada might already be past the point where “pig free” is even possible, says a University of Saskatchewan researcher.

Wild pigs continue to flourish

Control measures are being developed, although it’s unlikely to ever get them all

I am back on the trail of wild boars in Western Canada after a call from a farmer at Moosomin, in southeast Saskatchewan, who asked if there had been any progress in controlling or eradicating the pest. The short answer — no. From what I can see, the wild boar numbers appear to be increasing, […] Read more

Spill response on the farm, Part 1

Farmers depend on all sorts of tools to get the job done. Chemicals are just another tool farmers use to keep farm machinery running, keep livestock and crops healthy and to ensure farms operate at optimal performance. However, there is a potential for spills or leaks wherever crop protection products, cleaning supplies, fuel, livestock medications […] Read more



Specs and SPACs…

...and “how my idiot son quintupled his money in two months” (his words)

“But the most absurd and preposterous of all, and which showed more completely than any other, the utter madness of the people, was one, started by an unknown adventurer entitled ‘Company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.'” The above quote is by Charles Mackay from a […] Read more


The original wood framed EM38 complete with store string. Readers of Henry’s Handbook can check out page 81 to get the story behind the store string.

Les Henry: The EM38 Field Scout

The EM38 always gives the right answer — what that answer means in terms of soil interpretation is up to the user and experience

This piece is intended primarily for PAgs and CCAs and the farmers they serve. Field scouting of crops and soils has become an important part of the services provided. Grainews carries a regular column highlighting examples of crop-problem scouting by agronomists with Richardson Pioneer. I read the column each issue and often learn something new […] Read more



Generational transfer and the task of being fair to the other children is complex.

How to keep the farm together, a complex generational transfer

Farm Financial Planner: Parents devise a plan for middle-aged children to keep the farm whole

A couple we’ll call Max, 75, and his wife, Betty, 70, farm 1,000 acres in western Manitoba. They have three children who are 40, 48 and 45 years old. The eldest and youngest have city jobs and no wish to farm. The middle son, who we’ll call Brian, will take over the farm. The issue […] Read more

Pea root rot moves into new cropland about the same way as clubroot. Follow the clubroot protocol.

The looming Prairie-wide pea crop disaster

Follow the clubroot protocol to ensure your future as a pea grower

When I first became involved in checking out pea diseases in Alberta in 1974, pea crops were few and far between. Pea growing was somewhat of a disaster. The pea variety generally grown was called Trapper. This was a tall, six-foot vine that lodged as soon as pod-filling took place. The mass of lodged leaves […] Read more



PPE care and use during COVID-19

PPE care and use during COVID-19

Farmers of all different commodities are intimately familiar with personal protective equipment (PPE). Everything from work gloves and steel-toed boots to respirators and coveralls, all farms have spent a small fortune to keep everyone well equipped with the items they need to reduce the risk of injury or illness. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 […] Read more