(Candice Bell/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada adds step on U.S. romaine lettuce imports

E. coli testing to be required on Salinas Valley romaine

Canadian importers of U.S.-grown romaine lettuce will now face an extra step that’s expected to help prevent another outbreak of romaine-related illnesses due to E. coli. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it will begin next week to require importers to provide proof that their U.S.-grown romaine didn’t come from certain California counties. Otherwise, […] Read more



This operator holds the NutriScan soil diagnostic tool against a soil sample in the field. A soil analysis is available 
within minutes.

A real-time soil analysis in minutes

New technology brings diagnostic tool to the field

Are you ready for in-field soil testing technology that in a matter of minutes can give you a read of what nutrients are available or perhaps, more importantly, deficient for your crop? Here comes NutriScan. That’s the technology Concentric Ag and its plant nutrient division, ATP Nutrition, is offering to western Canadian farmers this fall, […] Read more



MAP+MST has high concentrations of both sulphur and phosphorus, so farmers can decrease their application rates to meet their yield goals, while saving time and trips across the field, says Nutrien senior agronomist Cristie Preston.

Nutrien launches new phosphorus and sulphur fertilizer for fall or spring application

Patented technology reduces the size of elemental sulphur particles for faster oxidation and slow release of nutrient all season long

In July, Nutrien announced the launch of its new Smart Nutrition MAP+MST fertilizer powered by Micronized Sulphur Technology (MST), which combines micronized sulphur with monoammonium phosphate (MAP) to give crops consistent nutrition. When applied in the fall, sulphur stays in its elemental form and won’t leach, so it’s available the following spring while freeing up […] Read more

The White Pass border crossing between Alaska and northwestern British Columbia, about 25 km north of Skagway, Alaska. The proposed A2A line would largely skirt B.C. en route from Alberta to Alaska. (Thierry64/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump-backed Canadian railway to Alaska faces high hurdles

Proponents say line could move grain, fertilizer as well as oil

Winnipeg/Washington | Reuters — A private-sector proposal endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a railway from Canada’s oil sands to ports in Alaska would free landlocked crude but faces numerous steep challenges. Trump wrote on Twitter over the weekend that he would issue a permit for the Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A Rail) […] Read more


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