The Bell Farm. Oil on canvas painted in 1985 by Fran Henry (1942-1988).

Les Henry: Big farms are not a new idea

There have been winners and losers over the years

There has been much ink spilled this winter talking about big farms and the problem of too few medium-sized farms to pick up the equipment trade-ins from big farms. Part of the problem is the electronic bells and whistles that dust out when the mechanical parts have much useful service left. Bells start ringing and […] Read more

A look at wheat and canola field crop diseases

A look at wheat and canola field crop diseases

What can you expect in 2022?

The word disease literally means not at ease (dis-ease). For a comprehensive review of all important diseases on the Canadian Prairies look out for the soon-to-be published, revised edition of Diseases of Field Crops in Canada. Crop diseases range from disease-causing fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes to nutritional problems. There are far too many diseases […] Read more



Some fungal diseases of crops are more prevalent in acidic soils. A good example is clubroot in canola in central Alberta.

Acid soil management in your fields

How to prevent, manage and remediate acid soils

Soil acidity is determined by measuring soil pH. The “H” refers to hydrogen and the “p” refers to hydrogen concentration on a negative logarithm scale (soil pH is -log [H+]). A soil pH of 7.0 is neutral, meaning the hydrogen (H+) ion concentration in soil equals the hydroxyl (OH-) ion concentration. A soil pH less […] Read more


Lean into strategic planning skills for 2022

In February, Farm Credit Canada released recommendations for farmers to navigate the challenges 2022 might present. According to FCC, this year is going to be a balancing act between growth, innovation and risk management, in which strategic planning will play a large role. “Canadian producers are encouraged to lean into their strategic planning skills this […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Saskatchewan budget aims to spur ag investment

Potash, crude oil resource revenues help cut deficit

Sweetening existing tax credits on big-ticket investments, and setting up a new Crown corporation to support Indigenous investors, are among the items expected to help encourage new value-added ag projects in Saskatchewan’s latest budget. Provincial Finance Minister Donna Harpauer on Wednesday released her 2022-23 budget with $17.6 billion in expenditures on $17.2 billion in revenues, […] Read more


ICE May 2022 canola (candlesticks, right column) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines) and NYMEX May 2022 WTI crude oil (grey line, left column). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Strong canola market to ‘see both sides of rainbow’

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts climbed to their highest levels ever during the week ended Wednesday before running into some profit-taking resistance. Its general uptrend remains intact for the time being, but a downturn is also inevitable. The nearby May canola contract hit a session high of $1,177.80 per tonne on Wednesday, before backing […] Read more



Among the most serious weed resistance concerns on the Prairies are wild oat and green foxtail, both seen here in this photo from Manitoba’s Interlake region in 2020.

How to scout for herbicide-resistant weeds

What to look for and when, plus prevention tips and an update on herbicide-resistant downy brome in canola

Get out and scout. Next to diversifying your rotations and herbicide selection as much as possible, it’s a critical part of managing herbicide-resistant weeds on your farm in 2022. Scouting is important because without an accurate and thorough picture of what resistant species exist in your fields, you can’t make the best management decisions. More […] Read more

CCA president Bob Lowe speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on March 21, 2022, calling for federal back-to-work legislation to end a work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Railway. (CPAC video screengrab via YouTube)

Ag industry groups seek legislated end to CP stoppage

Feed, fertilizer traffic already way behind, groups say

Warning they don’t have time to wait on negotiation, representatives for cattle feeders, fertilizer producers and grain growers took to Parliament Hill on Monday to press for the federal government to instead legislate Canadian Pacific Railway’s engineers and conductors back to work. Traffic halted on CP lines just after midnight ET Sunday morning as the […] Read more