Spring or summer -- times when the growing season is well underway -- are considered the best times to list a farm property.

Up for sale: First impressions count when selling farms

Rural real estate specialists offer advice if you're considering listing your farm

It’s been said you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. That’s especially true when it comes to selling the family farm, says a Manitoba real estate agent who specializes in farm property sales. Maurice Torr, a rural real estate expert with Century 21 Westman Realty in Brandon, says it’s important […] Read more



Researchers now recommend allowing one or two years between terminating an old alfalfa stand and reseeding.

Alfalfa replant disease and related disorders

Whatever the cause, we can realize it's a problem and try to avoid it

Back in the 1980s I spent a lot of time on alfalfa diseases, particularly the verticillium wilt disease problem that was spreading across the Prairies, particularly in southern Alberta. In a few snow-free and cold Decembers in those years, a lot of damage was done to alfalfa, winterkilling entire fields of three-year-old stands. Even white […] Read more

Warm spring in the forecast for most of Canada

Warm spring in the forecast for most of Canada

Moisture predicted to be normal across most of the country

All of Canada, aside from Yukon and parts of the Northwest Territories are expected to see warmer than normal temperatures over the next three months, according to the latest long-range seasonal forecast from Environment and Climate Change Canada, released Feb. 28.





Tim French/iStock/Getty Images

Prairie forecast: More much-needed moisture expected

Issued Feb. 29, covering Feb. 29 to March 6, 2024

Cold Arctic air has invaded the Prairies much to many people’s surprise. We have gotten so used to mild spring-like weather that some people may be put off that winter has returned. For those who read my last column, this type of weather shouldn't be surprising since we are now moving into what can be the snowiest time of the year.

Tile drains are perforated plastic pipes installed below the crop rooting zone, used to reduce the depth of shallow water tables in imperfectly and poorly drained areas of a field. This pipe has a filter sock to prevent sediment from getting into the tile system.

Make it drain: Is tile right for your fields?

A producer and an agrologist consider whether tile is worth your while

Tile drainage may be the best tool in the toolbox to manage saline soil in fields, a southwestern Manitoba farmer told an audience at the recent Ag Days farm show. Aaron Hargreaves, who co-owns Harwest Farms south of Brandon, said he and his four partners have struggled with soil salinity on their farm since they […] Read more



At Lethbridge just one year in the past 10 booked above-normal precipitation during its growing season.

A decade of dry

Let's review the variability of weather and soil moisture at Lethbridge

Weather is often the greatest factor that influences crop production across the Prairies — in particular, growing season precipitation and level of heat. The southern Prairies, particularly the regions of the Brown and Dark Brown soil zones, have the lowest growing-season precipitation, in the range of 150 to 200 mm (six to eight inches) and […] Read more