Sask. harvest slowed by rain and snow

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending October 1

Wet and cool weather continues to slow harvest operations in much of the province, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Seventy-three per cent of the crop is now in the bin, slightly behind the five-year (2013-2017) average of 78 per cent for this time of year. Twenty per cent of the crop is swathed […] Read more

(BC.RCMP-grc.gc.ca)

AgriRecovery offered for B.C. wildfire costs

British Columbia ranchers and farmers who lost pasture or cropland or had to move livestock out of the path of wildfires this year may be eligible for AgriRecovery funding. The federal and B.C. governments on Thursday announced a new AgriRecovery program worth up to $5 million to help defray “extraordinary costs incurred” due to wildfires […] Read more


It didn’t take much disturbance to raise the dust during a tillage demonstration at the 2018 Ag In Motion farm show.

Well here is a game changing concept

Profitable crop production with little or no added inputs. Is someone talking nonsense?

Talk about an interesting contrast in messages! In one week during my summer travels I attended a first-in-Canada Soil Health School in Manning (Alberta Peace River region) and a few days later I was eating dust at a tillage demonstration at the Ag In Motion farm show at Langham, Sask. My old brain had to […] Read more

Salt block feeder for cattle

Feeding salt to beef cattle is easy

From either blocks or in loose form, a beef animal now needs about 50 grams per day


What could be easier than throwing a salt block off the back of a truck for each group of grazing cattle in a cow herd? Or filling a part of a mineral compartment with loose salt? Then coming back in a week or so and putting out salt in one of these ways, again? It […] Read more


Weather deals harvest a blow with rain and snow

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 24

Another wet and cool week has significantly slowed harvest operations in the province. Sixty-eight per cent of the crop is now in the bin, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. The five-year (2013-2017) average is 64 per cent for this time of year. Rain was recorded throughout most of the province through the week. […] Read more

Weather unwinds harvest efforts, topsoil moisture seen improving

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 17

A wet and cool week stalled most harvest operations in the province. Sixty-two per cent of the crop is now in the bin, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. The five-year (2013-2017) average is 53 per cent for this time of year. Twenty-six per cent of the crop is now swathed or ready to […] Read more



This is the slough where the salt water changes shown in the table were measured. This photo was taken on July 29, 2013. The water level is now much lower.

Water monitoring: dull but necessary

Keeping track of all of the numbers is still necessary for decision making

Long-term monitoring of agricultural and environmental conditions and practices has been an important function of government agencies. It has been my experience in recent years that a lot of important monitoring functions have been reduced in scope or discontinued. In this column, I’ll describe a few examples of good monitoring and show the importance of […] Read more


Sask harvest ahead of five-year average, some crop damage from frost seen

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 10

Favourable weather for most of the province allowed producers to continue to make good progress in the field, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Fifty-eight per cent of the crop is now in the bin, well ahead of the five-year (2013-2017) average of 37 per cent for this time of year. Twenty-eight per cent […] Read more

Beef cattle feeding in Ontario. (DebraLee Wiseberg/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario plugs holes in wildlife compensation plan

Ontario’s agriculture ministry has patched a glitch in its wildlife damage compensation program, in which farmers’ claims risked rejection over the validity of their farm business registrations. “We heard livestock farmers’ concerns with the program so we’re making the first changes effective immediately,” Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman said in a release Monday. “We’re also continuing […] Read more