A large male wild boar — which can top 600 pounds — in a rare daytime photo. The animals tend to be nocturnal.

A boaring threat to our meat production

The growing population of wild boar on the prairies threatens livestock production


People who say they have never seen wild boar should watch the ditches at dusk from Florida to Dawson Creek. I have seen them at both locations and many places in between, and more than once avoided a disastrous collision with a wild boar. Wild boar, wild swine, Sas scrofa, Eurasian wild pig or just […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Fraser: Bibeau buying time, BRM not a federal priority

The federal government is buying time when it comes to making drastic improvements to AgriStability and other business risk management (BRM) programs. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau recently announced minor, cost-free tweaks to AgriStability, during the same week the public was given an updated look at Canada’s fiscal situation. That update shows the Liberal government’s […] Read more

Neil Ellis, shown here speaking in Belleville, Ont. in December 2018, is the new parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. (NEllis.liberal.ca)

Central Ontario MP named parliamentary ag secretary

A former Belleville, Ont. mayor will now play a backup role to the federal agriculture minister in the House of Commons. Neil Ellis, the Liberal MP for the Bay of Quinte constituency in central Ontario since 2015, was named Thursday as parliamentary secretary for the minister of agriculture and agri-food, Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ellis was a […] Read more


A drone equipped with a camera can be used to check remote watering systems, scan fencelines or check gates.

Drones. How did we farm without them?

Hart Attacks: Drone school explained how flying cameras can change the cattle business

I know I shouldn’t be amazed by anything that has to do with new technology, but it seems I always am. I recently spent part of a day at a central Alberta drone school —primarily geared to beef producers — and came away thinking it just never ends. So there I was in a community […] Read more

Jason Shapiro at Grain World. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Grain World: Geopolitics is back dominating global relations

Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Geopolitics is again shaping the international scene, including China, Jason Shapiro explained here Thursday at the Grain World conference. Geopolitics, he said, resulted in catastrophic global wars and generated very little peace for close to a century. Shapiro, director of analysis for Geopolitical Futures — an Austin, Tex.-based international risk analysis […] Read more


Coyotes offer a credible rodent control service every day of the year.

Please do not shoot those coyotes

One man’s poison is another man’s meal. Or at least a meal for that pesky coyote


Prairie people frequently get together to shoot coyotes, often with the support of local farmers. I’m not against disposing of problem wildlife, but I fail to see any benefits from shooting coyotes. Coyotes are a major reason why we are not overrun by rabbits, jackrabbits, voles, mice, pocket gophers, rats and ground squirrels. If we […] Read more

Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks at a Montreal convention on March 7, 2019.  Photo: Allan Dawson/File

Bibeau remains federal agriculture minister in shuffle

Updated, Nov. 21— Quebec MP Marie-Claude Bibeau retains her role as federal minister of agriculture and agri-food in Wednesday’s cabinet shake-up for the Liberals’ minority government. Bibeau will join her colleagues — including returning Transport Minister Marc Garneau and new Labour Minister Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP and former minister for seniors — in having […] Read more



Piglets at a hog operation in China. The U.S.-China trade war and the impact of African swine fever are taking their toll on Bunge’s agribusiness earnings. Photo: KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images

Bunge shares slide as China trade war, pig disease upset exports

Reuters – Agricultural merchant Bunge Ltd warned on Wednesday of a drop in annual profits due to mounting challenges to its grain trading and processing business from the U.S.-China trade war and a fatal pig disease in Asia, sending shares down more than 4 percent. The company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits, driven by higher margins […] Read more