Gov. Gen. Julie Payette looks on with Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance (l) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the Usher of the Black Rod Greg Peters leaves to summon the House of Commons to come listen to the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa on Sept. 23, 2020. (Adrian Wyld pool photo via Reuters)

Throne speech commits to rural broadband improvement

Rural health care, water management also on deck

The federal minority Liberal government is promising job creation, better rural internet access and a commitment to combating climate change in its newly revealed legislative plans. In an ambitious throne speech delivered Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party committed itself to implementing universal child care and extending or enhancing many of the economic measures put […] Read more

Charles Baron and partners brought FBN to Canada in 2017, buying Saskatchewan-based Yorkton Distributors. (FBN video screengrab via YouTube)

FBN cuts yearly membership fee to zero

Ag e-commerce firm offers free accounts to farmers

E-marketplace Farmers Business Network (FBN) has disposed of the annual membership fee that allowed members access to its various buying groups and services. California-based FBN, which has operated in the U.S. since 2014 and expanded to Canada in 2017, announced Tuesday (Sept. 15) its farmer members may now have “access to a select range of […] Read more


Three situations where an in-crop nitrogen application may be worthwhile

Three situations where an in-crop nitrogen application may be worthwhile

Q & A with an expert

Q: When should I consider an “in-crop” application of nitrogen? A: Under the arid environment of the Canadian Prairies, splitting nitrogen applications in annual crops (e.g. applying 70 per cent of the nitrogen at time of seeding and top dressing the balance during the vegetative stage) rarely provides an agronomic benefit over applying all the […] Read more

Nexus’ prototype R2-Weed2 system. (Nexus Robotics photo by Teric Greenan)

Feds back autonomous weederbot’s Halifax manufacturer

ACOA funding to support field-level trials

The federal government’s economic development agency for Atlantic Canada is putting up money for a new round of on-the-ground tests of a self-guided field-weeding robot. Halifax MP Andy Fillmore on Wednesday announced a $550,000 repayable investment from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation program for Halifax-based Nexus Robotics. Nexus, the […] Read more


Website hosts the eKonomics of crop fertility

Website hosts the eKonomics of crop fertility

Online calculators help with "what-if" scenarios

Western Canadian farmers looking to connect with some of the latest research in crop fertility can log onto a fairly new online resource developed by Nutrien, which delivers field-tested, science-based facts geared to helping producers get the most out of their fertilizer dollars. Nutrien has created a website called eKonomics that brings together reports on […] Read more

Today’s biggest issues in soil fertility

Today’s biggest issues in soil fertility

When to broadcast, shallow band, deep band and top dress

Rigas Karamanos, a senior agronomist with Koch Fertilizer Canada, is one of the leading Canadian experts in soil fertility today. After speaking at hundreds of producer conferences and research symposiums, Karamanos says there are four major topics that come up again and again at every discussion of agricultural soil fertility. Broadcasting, shallow banding, deep banding […] Read more


File photo of cranes at the Port of Montreal. (Jean-Paul_Lejeune/iStock/Getty Images)

Truce reached in Montreal port strike

Longshoremen to return to work Sunday

Striking longshoremen at the Port of Montreal plan to return to work Sunday morning, beginning a truce of up to seven months brokered by federal mediators. Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi announced Friday that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375, Syndicat des debardeurs and the port’s Maritime Employers Association (MEA) have “concluded […] Read more

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland waits to enter a ballroom at an event in Ottawa on Dec. 9, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

New finance minister Freeland no longer to spearhead U.S. relations

Ottawa | Reuters — Chrystia Freeland will no longer be in charge of spearheading diplomatic relations with the United States now that she is Canada’s new finance minister, three government sources told Reuters Wednesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made Freeland his main U.S. go-between when he named her deputy prime minister after last year’s […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Survey reveals improvement needed in parasite management

Animal Health with Roy Lewis: Internal and external pests need different treatments

Over the last few years there has been a lot written about internal worm control, timing of chemical treatment and parasite resistance. A group of researchers from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon asked producers in 2015 about how they were using internal parasite treatments. The researchers drew some good conclusions from this […] Read more

A general view of damage at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area on Aug. 5, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

North American ammonium nitrate laws best in world, Nutrien CEO says

Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s regulations for handling ammonium nitrate, a potentially explosive product used in fertilizer and in the mining industry, are the strictest in the world, the CEO of Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien said Tuesday. An ammonium nitrate stockpile exploded last week in Beirut killing at least 171 people, injuring 6,000 and […] Read more