File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: StatCan shows big jump in pea, lentil production

MarketsFarm –– The Canadian pulse harvest appears to be making a comeback after production struggled with a historic drought in Western Canada last year. Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its July satellite image-based principal field crop production estimates on Monday, projecting sharp increases in production for most of Canada’s crops, including pulses. Canada’s dry pea harvest […] Read more

Maintaining and improving soil organic matter is vital to crop production and soil health. I consider the soil micro-organisms much like a feedlot — I have to think about feeding the soil biology.” – Tim Nerbas.

Sask. farmer’s soil health approach results in ‘soil armour’

Farmer Tim Nerbas protects his soil with a layer of organic material he calls “soil armour.” He says that and other conservation farming practices to improve soil health on his farm may take time — but it’s worth the wait

Northwest Saskatchewan farmer Tim Nerbas knows if he does the best job of managing crop production above ground, it is probably providing the most benefit to all activity going on below ground. He doesn’t test to measure the amount of organic matter in the soil on his 4,000-acre grain, oilseed and pulse crop operation near […] Read more


Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on July 19 attended an event in Winnipeg marking the 50th anniversary of Cereals Canada with that organization’s CEO Dean Dias. (Dave Bedard photo)

Direct compensation for fertilizer tariffs not on table

Eastern farm groups call for help ahead of fall seeding

Farmers in Eastern Canada who rely on imports of Russian-made fertilizers aren’t going to see direct compensation for the federal government’s general tariff on those products. A clutch of farmer and ag industry groups on July 15 put forward a new request to Ottawa for compensation to farmers “negatively impacted” by a 35 per cent […] Read more

File photo of a field of soybeans under turbines at southern Manitoba’s St. Joseph wind farm. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba’s crops in ‘better situation’ than last year

Lost acreage still a question mark

MarketsFarm — Despite varied amounts of rainfall across the southern half of Manitoba over the past few weeks, pulses are faring quite well according to the province’s pulse specialist. Dennis Lange, who’s based at Altona, said while peas in fields with excessive moisture are struggling, those grown in adequate moisture and lighter soils are in […] Read more



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





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