Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks to media in Winnipeg on Feb. 13, 2020. (Dave Bedard photo)

Coronavirus stalls talks with China on canola ban

Officials 'not in position to pursue technical discussions,' Bibeau says

Ottawa | Reuters — The coronavirus outbreak has stalled talks between Canada and China about Beijing’s decision to block Canadian canola seed shipments, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Friday. China, angry at Canada’s detention of a top Huawei Technologies executive in December 2018, blocked all imports of canola seed last March on the grounds they […] Read more



This is my plot site as it appeared on August 20, 2015.

Les Henry: Finding a place for bees

Syngenta’s Operation Pollinator: a good fit for an awkward piece of land

Bees are an important part of crop production, particularly canola. In recent years, concern about bee populations has initiated work to learn more and do more to help maintain bee populations. Operation Pollinator is a program of Syngenta Canada Inc. with the objective of encouraging bee populations to assist with pollination of commercial crops. It […] Read more

I could see numerous patches of discoloured canola plants, 
but there was no discernable pattern.

Crop advisor casebook: Mystery of the discoloured canola

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 18, 2020 issue of Grainews

Back in mid-June, I got a call from Dave, a grain farmer near Elie, Man., who was concerned about the condition of the plants in one of his canola fields. Dave, who also grows wheat, soybeans and flax on his 3,200-acre farm, said some of the canola plants started exhibiting discoloured leaves shortly after emergence. […] Read more



ICE Futures May 2020 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola values stuck in a range

MarketsFarm — Canola prices came off of the long weekend in the green, but quickly gave back those gains at midweek, remaining stagnant and rangebound. While rail blockades across the country have hampered rail activity and backed up grain shipments, cold weather has slowed down farmer movement for canola. That has insulated canola prices from […] Read more


Truflex varieties allow producers to use a higher maximum rate of Roundup herbicide over a wider window of crop safety. The higher maximum rate also broadens the weed control spectrum.

TruFlex is game-changing tech for canola

Improved traits in hybrid varieties give growers more options

Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to some of the new features in canola varieties this year. Some varieties have been developed to handle higher rates of glyphosate with a wider window of application, while others have dual herbicide tolerance, and will give farmers a choice to use one or two […] Read more

The 2019 harvest on the Prairies left little to be desired, with crops still left in fields for a good number of farmers.

Speeding up crop maturity

Consider these nine factors to make sure you have time to get your crop in the bin in 2020

Last season, 2019, was a bad crop-growing season on the Canadian Prairies. There are various estimates of 10 to 25 per cent of all crops left unharvested in swaths or even still standing on cropland. Well, in that case, 75 to 90 per cent of the crop is in the bin, despite the weather. Lots […] Read more



Drone provides a new field perspective

Drone provides a new field perspective

Ground truthing is still important, but drones can identify problem areas

Randi Wenzel says even basic operation of a drone over annual crops and pastures on their south-central Saskatchewan mixed farm provides some very useful management information, along with some peace of mind. Wenzel, who farms with family members south of Central Butte, has been flying a drone during the cropping and grazing seasons for the […] Read more