Harvest yields down but quality good, pastures seen very dry

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 25

Wet and cool weather delayed harvest for most producers this past week, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Seventy-eight per cent of the crop is now in the bin, slightly up from 75 per cent last week. Harvest progress remains ahead of the five-year (2012-2016) average of 74 per cent for this time of […] Read more



Different types of soil have different properties. University of Alberta research is focusing on measuring soil quality.

Controlling traffic to improve your soil

A new test offers another way to test soil quality improvements

It can be called “fractal hierarchical aggregation” or just “fractal aggregation.” Whatever the moniker, the new method of soil health testing promises to offer an important way to assess soil quality and land stewardship, says Guillermo Hernandez, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. Hernandez is the lead researcher on a suite of projects […] Read more


Saskatchewan harvest well ahead of five-year average, rain delays some farmers

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 18

Rain showers last week delayed harvest for some producers but most were back in the field within a few days. Seventy-five per cent of the crop is now combined, up from 65 per cent last week, which is well ahead of the five-year (2012-2016) average of 58 per cent for this time of year. Sixteen […] Read more

James Allum, shown here at a winter carnival in Winnipeg’s Fort Garry district, is the new agriculture critic for Manitoba’s opposition NDP. (YourManitoba.ca)

Manitoba NDP names new ag critic

Manitoba’s former education minister has been pressed into service as the new agriculture critic for the provincial legislature’s official opposition. Wab Kinew, who was elected Saturday as the leader of the opposition New Democrats, on Thursday named James Allum, the MLA for the Winnipeg riding of Fort Garry-Riverview, as the critic for agriculture. Allum will […] Read more


(Bayer.com)

Bayer says needs more time for Monsanto deal approval

Monheim, Germany | Reuters — German drugs and pesticides group Bayer said Tuesday it was now likely to be early next year before it can complete its US$66 billion deal to acquire U.S. group Monsanto, later than previously expected. The European Commission has been scrutinizing the proposed takeover with a deadline of Jan. 8 but […] Read more

(UFA.com)

UFA to shut down outdoor outfitter business

Alberta farmers’ co-operative UFA is set to get out of an “increasingly competitive” space in the retail sector by closing its outdoor supply chain Wholesale Sports. The co-operative, which bought what was then a seven-store chain in 2008, announced Thursday it would start inventory liquidation sales Friday at all 12 of its remaining Wholesale Sports […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Storms worsen summer slump in U.S. diesel supply

New York | Reuters — U.S. diesel stockpiles did something this year that has never happened in the summer before: They shrank. And that was even before Hurricane Harvey landed, knocking out a quarter of U.S. refining capacity, crippling production of fuel products. Thanks to surprising summer demand, particularly from exports, inventories of diesel, jet […] Read more

(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

U.S. wants NAFTA five-year sunset provision

Washington | Reuters — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday that the United States was seeking to add a five-year sunset provision to the North American Free Trade Agreement to provide a regular, “systematic re-examination” of the trade pact. Ross told a forum hosted by Politico that both he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert […] Read more