Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna (l) and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault (r), speaks at the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa on Dec. 11, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

No credit expected for farmers’ past work in new carbon market

Work on protocols for specific projects to begin this spring, department says

Draft regulations for Canada’s new carbon market show Canadian farmers won’t receive credit for removing any greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the atmosphere prior to 2017. Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Friday announced the offset market, to be known as the Federal Greenhouse Gas Offset System. A 60-day public consultation period on draft regulations […] Read more

File photo of Highway 363 near Moose Jaw, Sask. (Mysticenergy/iStock/Getty Images)

Spring road bans coming into effect across Prairies

MarketsFarm — Warming temperatures and melting snow across Western Canada may cause some disruptions to grain and livestock movement over the next few weeks as seasonal spring road restrictions come into effect across the Prairies. The annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to reduce […] Read more


As late as 1987, one big rain event did all this damage to a summerfallow field near Eastend, Sask.

Les Henry: Soil productivity, quality and health

Nature and nurture

Soil health is a prominent topic in current scientific and farm management literature. It is good to see attention being paid to the soil resource our industry depends on. In this piece, we will try to unravel some of the principles and the practical application of those principles. From the get-go, we must realize farming […] Read more

Matt and Angela Kumlin move their cow-calf pairs to pasture.

Ranchers apply new practices summer and winter

High-intensity grazing along with swath grazing boosts overall production, plus how to construct a 3-D fence

Matt and Angela Kumlin, a young farm couple near Cochrane, Alta., are making major changes to their forage management and winter feeding programs, and they’re seeing beneficial results. They have cattle of their own and take in yearlings for custom grazing in the summer, utilizing different forages in their pasture mix. “Most of our grassland […] Read more


The CCS option features a 50-bushel central fill seed delivery system.

John Deere 1745 planter offers versatility for corn and soybean producers

It’s compatible with older tractors and ideal for no-till farming, smaller or odd-shaped fields and narrow transport

Bigger isn’t necessarily best when it comes to choosing the right planter. For corn and soybean growers looking for a split-row configuration, planter-applied fertilizer capability and narrow transport, John Deere’s 1745 MaxEmerge 5 Planter, may fit the bill. “The 1745 is an economical planter in a split-row configuration that’s capable of planting soybeans on 15-inch (38 […] Read more

The photo shows NE26 Township 11 Range 11, west of Meridian 1, three miles east of Austin, Man. The soils are of the Almassippi association. The details of individual soils are all available online at Manitoba Agri-Maps at the Agrimaps website (see link at right).

Les Henry: Nitrate down the well

Quit porking on so much N

This song has been sung before in this column. With the death of babies as a possible consequence, it bears repeating. Nitrate in the environment In a native grass environment like my grandfather and yours broke up to farm, nitrate was a rare molecule. Native grass evolved by staying brown and doing nothing when it […] Read more


Snow cover in southern Manitoba has been sparse this winter, as shown across this field east of Starbuck, Man. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Wet or dry spring ahead? Depends on where in Canada

MarketsFarm — There will be increased in risk of flooding this spring in British Columbia, western Alberta and parts of Eastern Canada, according to a report Friday from AccuWeather. Meanwhile, dry conditions are expected to continue across the Prairies. AccuWeather’s report forecasts below-normal temperatures for B.C. and western Alberta going into spring. That could delay […] Read more

Zero tillage: lime it occasionally

Zero tillage: lime it occasionally

Acidification of the top few inches may inhibit cereal growth

Anything we do these days often comes with a meaningless label. For example, people say, “I am a Catholic, a Baptist, a Methodist …” but haven’t been near a church in many years. Some say, “I am right wing, left wing, green, a socialist, conservative …” but when questioned, most individuals have no definition or […] Read more


The MobiLab requires precise but not difficult sample preparation and processing.

iMetos releases its newest version of MobiLab

A fast, easy-to-use, portable soil lab that measures nutrients from soil and plant sap

To maximize crop yields depends on optimizing nutrient management: applying the right product at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place. Since no field is perfectly consistent, the challenge lies in figuring out what precise nutrients are needed where. Enter MobiLab, an easy-to-operate, portable lab that produces on-farm, lab-quality, soil […] Read more

Tom Vilsack speaks to farmers at a rural agricultural co-operative at Guira de Melena in Cuba on Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini)

U.S. Senate confirms Vilsack as Biden’s ag secretary

Pandemic leaves USDA 'a lot of work to do'

Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Tom Vilsack to head the Department of Agriculture, returning the former Iowa governor to the job he held under ex-President Barack Obama. The 100-member Senate approved Vilsack 92-7. He needed a simple majority in the Democratic-controlled chamber to be confirmed. As secretary of the sprawling department, Vilsack […] Read more