Flags in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. (Inakiantonana/E+/Getty Images)

EU crops to face some challenges in 2022-23

MarketsFarm — Total grain production in the European Union is expected to decrease overall by 2.4 per cent in 2022-23, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture attachés throughout the multi-nation bloc. For the coming crop year, they forecast production to be 286.02 million tonnes of wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats, mixed grains and others. One […] Read more

(Greg Berg photo)

StatsCan predicts more Canadian wheat acres, less canola in 2022

Lentil, corn, soy acres are also expected up from 2021, barley down

MarketsFarm — Canada’s farmers intend to seed more acres to wheat and less to canola in 2022, according to the first survey-based estimates from Statistics Canada for the upcoming crop year released Tuesday. Canola area is forecast at 20.9 million acres by the government agency, which would be down by seven per cent from the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Drought fears, fertilizer may affect Canadian acreage estimates

MarketsFarm — Traders and analysts awaiting Statistics Canada’s first survey-based acreage report for the 2022-23 crop year on Tuesday believe competition amongst crops — as well as their dependence on fertilizer, and the possibility of another drought this summer — will be determining factors. Canola stands as the best representation of traders’ concerns. Despite reaching […] Read more

I have seen pea crops combined in some years by the end of August or early September. What the smart farmer then does is heavy harrow the pea stubble and bury a few bushels per acre of peas that missed the combine. Under moist soil conditions, these peas will germinate and, in most instances, grow well into the end of October.

Let’s get real on cover crops

Let’s call them Prairie catch crops

Cover crops have been much heralded as possible wonder fits for Canadian Prairie cropping systems. Sometimes they might fit. It really depends heavily on our most important nutrient of all — water — and the type of following crop you intend to grow. In many years of Prairie crop evaluations, it is no surprise that […] Read more


Hunter Goliath turnips can be an excellent forage cover crop, although as the White Lake Colony learned one concern with turnips, especially if there is a high percentage in the forage mix is that the high protein crop “runs through the cattle too fast; the cows get very loose manure”.

Experimenting with irrigated cover crops

Program helps to extend the grazing season while also helping to benefit the soil

The White Lake Hutterite Colony near Nobleford, about half an hour northwest of Lethbridge, Alberta produces both beef cattle along with annual crops, and in recent years they’ve started looking at growing cover crops under irrigation. Cattle manager Jerry Hofer has been trying several different species to be seeded after taking off soft white wheat […] Read more

The Bell Farm. Oil on canvas painted in 1985 by Fran Henry (1942-1988).

Les Henry: Big farms are not a new idea

There have been winners and losers over the years

There has been much ink spilled this winter talking about big farms and the problem of too few medium-sized farms to pick up the equipment trade-ins from big farms. Part of the problem is the electronic bells and whistles that dust out when the mechanical parts have much useful service left. Bells start ringing and […] Read more


Erebus Xtreme is sprayed on a spring wheat field during a 2021 field trial in Balcarres, Sask.

Syngenta releases new grass and broadleaf cereal herbicide

Farmers can address herbicide resistance concerns and avoid rotational crop restrictions with Erebus Xtreme

For Prairie farmers battling problem weeds, herbicide-resistant wild oats are one of the worst as they’re now found throughout Western Canada. One of the best ways to combat herbicide resistance is to rotate active ingredients, which is why Syngenta has introduced Erebus Xtreme, a new cross-spectrum herbicide aimed at helping cereal growers control herbicide-resistant wild […] Read more



Jesse Meyer says winter cereals have been a big part of his family’s Peace River region farming operation for about 30 years. Winter cereals help spread out the workload, are an important part of risk management and are sought after in the marketplace.

Crop rotation built around winter cereals

For more than 30 years fall-seeded crops have been a key part of this Peace River region farm business plan

Growing winter cereals is anything but an afterthought on the Meyer farm in the central Alberta Peace River region. For the past 30 years, the family farm at Woking, which is about 45 minutes north of Grande Prairie, has included winter cereals in the rotation, and particularly over the past 10 years, winter crops have […] Read more

Four generations of the Cole family enjoying a harvest meal in the field at the family farm near Coronation, Alta.

New investment model provides capital for land acquisitions and farmland improvement

With investments from Area One Farms, an Alberta farmer expands his operation so his kids and their families can return home to farm

It was seven or so years ago that Kurt Cole realized he needed a bigger farm. Three of his five daughters and their families wanted to return home to farm with Cole, so the Alberta grain producer started searching for a way to raise $7 million — the price tag for some nearby land belonging […] Read more