WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says

Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report

MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more

(Serts/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Turkey’s record-level lentil imports expected to decrease

Country's domestic acreage expected up in 2021

MarketsFarm — Canadian lentil exports to Turkey reached unprecedented numbers in 2020. According to Statistics Canada data, Turkey imported 534,160 tonnes worth $355 million during the calendar year, making it the second-largest buyer of Canadian lentils behind India. Last year’s total nearly equalled the amount of lentils Canada exported to Turkey over the previous three […] Read more


A view from Globeways Canada’s office at Mississauga, Ont., from a 2011 video marking the presentation of the Mississauga Board of Trade’s award for Small Business of the Year. (MBOT video screengrab via YouTube)

Pulse packers’ security covers cash owed to farmers

Sales of Globeways plants in Manitoba, Saskatchewan now approved

More than 50 farmers who were owed money for deliveries to Prairie pulse and special crop processors Canpulse Foods and Global Grain Canada are expected to get what they’re owed, as both companies’ assets move to new ownership. Canpulse, Global Grain Canada and their parent company Globeways Canada went into receivership last Nov. 19, following […] Read more

Red lentils. (Photo courtesy U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices increase

MarketsFarm — Lentil prices have been increasing over the last week, making gains of one to five cents per pound depending on the type, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. “There’s a huge demand on everything right now. The lentil market is strong just like the yellow peas,” Allan Johnston, president of Johnston Grains at Welwyn, […] Read more


Some crops are a little more salt tol­erant — like canola shown above as well as alfalfa, corn, oats and wheat — and you will probably not see sig­nificant yield loss until you hit a conductivity number of about two mS/cm, says Lyle Cowell with Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Crops and saline soils

Plant something, but choose carefully

When it comes to planting most annual cash crops on saline land, Lyle Cowell does not mince words: stop. “When a cattle farm has a cow that is no longer productive, that cattle farmer will not continue to try to breed that cow. It will be culled,” says the agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions in […] Read more

Organic farmer Boyd Charles, pictured here with wife, Gloria, of Stoughton, Sask., says his pelletized and cooked chicken manure packs more fertilizer punch for his grain crops than commercial fertilizer ever could.

Saskatchewan organic producer wins with chicken manure

Pelletized, cooked manure an organic fertilizer solution

Ask Boyd Charles what he considers his happiest day as a farmer and he’ll probably tell you it was the day he sold his sprayer. “I was tired of giving away most of my profit to the chemical companies,” he says of his decision to become an organic farmer in 1996. He hasn’t looked back. […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan confirms canola stocks tightening

Wheat stocks also down from previous year-end

MarketsFarm — Solid demand from exporters and domestic crushers continues to eat rapidly through Canada’s canola stocks, which as of Dec. 31 were down nearly 24 per cent from the same date a year earlier, according to new data released Friday from Statistics Canada. The government agency pegged total canola stocks in the country as […] Read more

Garry and Geri Johnson have been using organic farming practices on their farm near Swift Current, Sask., for more than 20 years.

Organic farming veteran offers some truth and tips

Thinking of going organic? Back up a little

There are a number of reasons why farmers might want to try their hand at organic farming. Reports of premiums based on the demand for organic foods might be one. Cutting expensive chemical inputs out of your budget can also be a major incentive. However, if you’re only looking at organic farming through a financial […] Read more


Proline Gold is a new canola fungicide that offers protection against sclerotinia. Its liquid formulation provides systemic and contact protection with two modes of action. The above photo shows a sclerotinia stem lesion.

New fungicides and insecticides heading your way in 2021

New products to control insects like flea beetles and diseases, such as blackleg and sclerotinia, in canola, and more

One season is never the same as the next, so farmers face different disease and insect issues every year. This is one of the reasons there are new solutions being developed and coming to market every year — to help farmers protect their crops throughout the growing season from new and old disease and insect […] Read more

New herbicides for 2021

New herbicides for 2021

New and improved products and formulations from BASF, UPL AgroSolutions, Nufarm, FMC Canada and Corteva

Farmers face increasing pressure every year from existing and emerging weeds, as well as increasing issues with weed resistance. Agricultural companies are constantly developing and launching new and improved products and formulations to try and stay ahead of the curve. The following is a synopsis of the new herbicide products from BASF, UPL AgroSolutions, Nufarm, […] Read more