standing stubble from a fall harvested crop

Drought preparedness through soil and crop management

After each dry year, adapt your drought plan based on your experiences and what you learned

As spring approaches, the agricultural community is becoming increasingly concerned about potential forecasts of drought across the southern Prairies. And rightly so; the print and electronic media have posted numerous drought-related articles. Wide areas of southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan and their dryland farms, irrigated farms and ranching areas could be affected. But what helpful […] Read more



Rail cars in Vancouver. (Photo courtesy/copyright Canadian National Railway)

Rail strike looms as CN, CPKC workers take action to a vote

Any labour disruption could be weeks away, but the grain sector is still wary

Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are in the middle of a strike vote. The vote comes after three collective agreements, covering CN and CPKC engineers and conductors as well as rail traffic controllers at CPCK, expired December 31.




Some winterkill in winter wheat doesn’t necessarily mean the surviving crop is unsaleable

Conditions ripe for winter cereal wreck

Snow cover decline, temperature flux, pooling, freezing all potential problems

Glacier FarmMedia — Minimal snow cover, frigid temperatures in mid-January and above-average temperatures after that may have set the stage for winterkill in winter crops. The risk is high enough to cause concern among crop specialists. “The eastern Prairies are in a little bit better shape than (Saskatchewan and Alberta) but there’s huge swaths that […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan)

Canary seed growers optimistic for 2024

David Nobbs, chair of the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan and pulse merchant for Purely Canada Foods, said exports are on pace for 110,000 to 120,000 tonnes in 2023-24, compared to 150,000 to 160,000 in a typical year. Statistics Canada (StatCan) projected 125,000 tonnes of exports for 2023-24, compared to 147,000 the previous year.



How many ounces do you get in a pint? That depends on where you are — or, at least, where your pint glass came from.

The facts we stumble over

Why the frost on your windshield didn't kill your crop, and other nuggets of wisdom

When I undertook field research trials in Alberta in the 1970s on fungicides and insecticides for disease and insect control, I was often stymied by the Imperial (Canadian), U.S. and metric measurement systems. While the metric system was fairly straightforward and in its Canadian infancy, I had a hard time reconciling U.S. and Canadian measurement […] Read more