Growers should only use an insecticide when an economic threshold for a pest is reached.

Don’t jump the gun on pest control

It’s never a good idea to overreact when you see insects on your crops because jumping the gun, and spraying if it’s not really necessary, can do more harm than good. “Seldom, if ever, do preventative insecticides actually pay us,” says Scott Meers, insect specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “When we spray just to […] Read more



Farms.com buys Better Farming

A U.S. online agriculture firm has taken another step into paper and ink with a deal for independent Ontario ag journal Better Farming. Ames, Iowa-based Farms.com announced last week it has taken a majority stake in Better Farming publisher Ag Media Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Ag Media was formed in 1999 by ex-employees of […] Read more

(CropTrust.org)

Doomsday Vault keepers move to lock up more funding

Oslo | Reuters — The Crop Trust, which runs a so-called doomsday seed vault in the Arctic, secured a doubling of its core funds on Friday and urged the private sector to do more to safeguard commercial food production. Friday’s pledges totalling about $150 million were mainly from governments, including the U.S., Germany and Australia, […] Read more





The former Conservative government cited safety concerns around home-grow operations — such as this illicit operation discovered by RCMP in the McCreary, Man. area in January — when it overhauled federal medical marijuana rules in 2013. (Photo courtesy Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP)

Court rules medical marijuana users can grow their own

Vancouver | Reuters — A federal court judge in Vancouver on Wednesday ruled that medical marijuana patients have the Constitutional right to grow their own cannabis, striking down a ban introduced by Canada’s previous Conservative government. The court suspended its decision for six months to give Ottawa time to respond. A group of British Columbia […] Read more

(HempTrade.ca)

Australia set to legalize cultivation of medical cannabis

Sydney | Reuters — Australia is expected to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medical or scientific purposes with a bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday — the first step toward doctors eventually prescribing it to patients with chronic pain. The bill will see Australia create a national licensing and permit scheme to supply medical […] Read more


(FarmersEdge.ca)

Major investment to build Farmers Edge’s data power

Canadian precision agronomy and farm data management firm Farmers Edge plans to keep taking its services to previously underserved acres around the world, with a major cash infusion from a group of its backers. Japanese commodities trading and investment firm Mitsui, Toronto commercial real estate company Osmington and the Green Growth Fund operated by investment […] Read more

Yara’s fertilizer terminal at Stockton, California. (Sebastian Braum photo, Yara.com)

Yara to buy Agrium fertilizer upgrading plant

Canadian fertilizer firm Agrium has a buyer lined up for a U.S. nitrogen upgrading site it’s been looking to sell since April. Oslo-based fertilizer giant Yara said Thursday it’s made a deal to buy Agrium’s West Sacramento Nitrogen Operations plant for US$27 million (C$36 million) and use the facility instead as an import terminal for […] Read more