This field of canola treated with the biological product Utrisha N was part of the Corteva Agriscience trials in 2021. During an extremely dry growing season across most of Western Canada last year, Corteva trials showed there was on average a 1.3-bushel-per-acre yield advantage for canola growers who applied Utrisha N, delivering a positive yield response 69 per cent of the time. It’s not a huge yield increase, but with canola in the $20-plus-per-bushel range, it more than covered the cost of the product. What can the product do under improved growing conditions?

Can biological crop inputs for cereals and oilseeds work?

Foliar-applied nitrogen-fixing biologicals for grains and oilseeds are a great concept. Here, four Prairie farmers share their experiences

There aren’t too many western Canadian farmers who would consider growing a pulse crop without first applying rhizobium bacteria to the seed to help the plant roots fix nitrogen in the soil. The benefits of that technology are well proven and accepted. But what about a foliar application of bacteria to the leaves and stems […] Read more






Feeder market strengthens toward third quarter

Feeder market strengthens toward third quarter

Several factors indicate prices will be higher during fall and winter of 2022

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $284-$286 during the second week of May. This is up about $10 from a month earlier. Alberta and Saskatchewan were contending with a backlog of market-ready, fed cattle supplies during the first five months of 2022. However, this burdensome supply situation […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Barley price forecasts enhance feeder cattle demand

Recent rains nearly guarantee at least average yields

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were relatively unchanged. Heifer and steer calves were quoted steady to $3 lower on average but the market was harder to define due to limited numbers. Small packages of calves of various quality resulted in the wide-ranging price structure. Buying interest for grassers appears to have subsided. […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Rains enhance demand for grass cattle

Deferred cattle futures showing strength

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$3 on either side of unchanged; steer calves under 700 lbs. were steady to $2 higher on average; heifer calves were steady to $5 higher. Southern Alberta, along with the western half of Alberta, received 30-40 mm of rain over the week which enhanced demand for […] Read more


Tim Nerbas of NRG Farms in northwest Saskatchewan, says he usually does a bit of both pre- and post-harvest
treatments on about 4,000 acres of crops, which include wheat, oats, barley, canola, flax and faba beans.

The best fit for pre- or post-harvest treatments

With erratic growing season conditions producers need to be flexible with fall weed control plans

Farmers Owen Orsak and Tim Nerbas hadn’t got the 2022 crop in the ground yet when they were asked in early May about their fall weed control plans, but the Manitoba and Saskatchewan producers, respectively, say they will apply desiccation and weed control measures on their farms this year depending on weed growth and harvest […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Prices slip slightly

MarketsFarm — There has been scant movement in feed grain prices over the last week, according to Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton, who noted demand has backed off a little. Buyers have stepped away following rains throughout much of the province, including the drought-stricken south. In turn, she said, prices “softened slightly.” […] Read more