Forecast probability of precipitation above, below and near normal for the period from February through April 2021, based on three equiprobable categories from 1981-2010 climatology. Map produced Jan. 31, 2021. (Map: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Long-range forecast points to cool, wet spring for northern Prairies

MarketsFarm — Central and northern agricultural regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta are forecast to see cooler-than-normal temperatures with above-average precipitation over the next three months, according the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The department’s latest seasonal weather maps, dated Sunday, show a 40-50 per cent chance of above-normal precipitation across most of the northern […] Read more

It’s not very glamorous but you can learn a lot by studying the shape and consistency of a cow pie.

Be careful not to step in it

Watching cows’ poop helps you learn about what they’re eating

Anytime that I walk through a dairy barn, I walk in front of the feed bunk and usually watch the cows defecate. Their fresh cow pies reflect on how well their milking diet is being consumed and digested. If something is out of line, manure consistency and content warn me almost immediately. So then I […] Read more


(PaulCowan/iStock/Getty Images)

U.K. to ask to join Trans-Pacific trading bloc ‘shortly’

Bilateral deals signed or in works with several CPTPP members

London | Reuters — Britain will soon submit its application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, trade minister Liz Truss said on Wednesday. Since deciding to leave the European Union, a process it completed at the end of 2020, Britain has been seeking out new trading arrangements around […] Read more

(MartineDoucet/E+/Getty Images)

Dairy farmers must register to get further trade compensation payouts

Expect letters soon explaining process, AgMin says

Dairy farmers wanting to get in on a three-year, $1.405 billion federal compensation program for market share lost to free trade deals must register for the program by March 31 in each of those years. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Tuesday laid out further specifics for the Dairy Direct Payment Program, which is set to […] Read more


Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra is Canada’s new federal transport minister. (Omar Alghabra video screengrab via YouTube)

Trudeau names new transport, foreign affairs ministers

Garneau to handle foreign policy; Omar Alghabra takes transport

Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named new ministers for foreign affairs and transport on Tuesday ahead of an election that insiders in his Liberal Party say is likely this year. Trudeau’s hand was forced when Innovations Minister Navdeep Bains, 43, unexpectedly announced he was resigning from politics for family reasons. Bains, who […] Read more

File photo of snacks, produce and assorted street food loaded on a motorbike in Bali, Indonesia. (Lina Moiseienko/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada consulting at home toward Indonesia trade deal

Possibility of broader Southeast Asian pact also looms

Continuing to seek out free trade deals in the Asia-Pacific region, Canada has launched public consultations on the merits of a potential bilateral pact with Indonesia. “Deepening trade ties with Indonesia would benefit Canadian businesses of all sizes and lead to economic growth and prosperity for years to come,” International Trade Minister Mary Ng said […] Read more


File photo of domestic hogs on a German farm. (FooTToo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU farmers could get cash to curb emissions from belching livestock

Brussels | Reuters — Farmers should get European Union funding to reduce methane emissions from livestock or increase organic farmland, the European Commission said on Thursday, under plans to make agriculture greener. The EU is nearing the end of a two-year battle to overhaul its massive farming subsidies scheme, to attempt to align the agriculture […] Read more

(Dave Bedard file photo)

Manitoba to consolidate and shut agriculture, MASC offices

Province announces 'new rural service delivery model'

Updated, Jan. 7 — Manitoba’s agriculture and resource development department and crop insurance and ag lending agency will close their offices in 21 communities and consolidate others this spring, in a bid to reduce their “physical footprint.” Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen on Wednesday announced what the province billed as “a new rural service delivery model […] Read more


About six years ago, Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote and John Cote decided to take the farm business in a whole new direction. They bought an 80-acre parcel of land near Saskatoon where they built a distillery and now grow flowers.

You never know what these farmers are up to

OYF alumni are letting no moss grow under their feet

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF) had to forego the usual flurry of hugs and handshakes at their annual awards week this year, but they still ran an informative online event in early December. There were no winners to be announced for 2020. That part of the program was just postponed to, hopefully, later in 2021 […] Read more