(Screengrab from Merit Functional Foods video via YouTube)

Bidding open for Merit Foods for two more weeks

Stakeholder Burcon plans to put up 'compelling bid'

The fate of Winnipeg pea- and canola-based protein processor Merit Functional Foods won’t be confirmed until the end of April at the earliest. Merit, whose major shareholders include Vancouver plant-based protein firm Burcon NutraScience, U.S. agrifood firm Bunge and former executives of Hemp Oil Canada, was placed into receivership March 1. According to the first […] Read more

A University of Saskatchewan researcher conducting phosphorus fertilization trials near Central Butte in 2021.

Phosphorus fertility studies reveal best placement

Proper placement of phosphorus fertilizer is crucial to meet the nutritional needs of plants

Like most Canadians these days, farmers are looking to get the most bang for their bucks. That’s especially true when it comes to applying phosphorus fertilizers to their fields. Jeff Schoenau, a professor of soil fertility at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and chair of soil nutrient management for the Saskatchewan Ministry of […] Read more


File photo of black beans. (Nhattienphoto/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: For growers, spring still far away

Just 'minor changes' expected in Manitoba acres

MarketsFarm — Springtime still seems distant for southern Manitoba as snow remains and freezing temperatures persist. However, provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange said current conditions are setting up well for seeding after temperatures rise and snow melts. “We’re still a little ways off. There are still snow drifts in the fields in most areas of […] Read more

Chickpeas. (Grigorenko/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Pulse weekly outlook: Steady world trade expected in 2023

IGC sees firmer demand for dry peas in particular

MarketsFarm — World trade in chickpeas and lentils is expected to remain relatively steady in 2023, with solid demand from South Asia underpinning markets, according to the latest outlook from the International Grains Council. The IGC sees the world trade in chickpeas in 2023 at about 1.9 million tonnes, which would be unchanged from 2022, […] Read more



Yellow peas. (Victoria Popova/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba growers not worried about Merit situation

Pea, canola protein processor in receivership

MarketsFarm — After Manitoba-based plant protein processor Merit Functional Foods went into receivership last Wednesday, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG) executive director Daryl Domitruk said it is not a microcosm of the province’s pulse industry. Domitruk said MPSG learned about Merit’s financial situation through the media. He also added that some Manitoba pea growers […] Read more


If your cropland is presently clubroot-free, keep it that way. Do not allow any mud-carrying equipment of any kind on your cropland other than your own farm equipment. Plant resistant varieties and keep the land clubroot-free to enhance your financial future.

Present and future plant disease and weed issues in the Prairies, Part 1

Disease prevention works if you follow standard crop biosecurity procedures

Here are 10 of the more important disease and weed issues in Western Canada, but I could easily add 10 more. 1. Clubroot of canola2. Cereal cyst nematode3. Soybean cyst nematode4. Aphanomyces root rot of peas and lentils5. Verticillium wilt of canola6. Sudden death syndrome of soybean7. Potato cyst nematode8. Potato powdery scab9. Sclerotinia white […] Read more

(Screengrab from Merit Functional Foods video via YouTube)

Merit Foods stakeholder looking to buy company

Burcon 'actively engaged' with company's receiver

One of the joint-venture owners of Winnipeg pea and canola protein processor Merit Functional Foods says it’s in talks to buy full control of the cash-strapped company. Two days after Merit entered a court-ordered receivership, Vancouver-based Burcon NutraScience announced Friday it “intends to submit a formal proposal to acquire the business.” Burcon said Merit’s receivership […] Read more


Exacting cooks know it’s important to choose the right tool for the task.

The mettle of metal cooking pots

First We Eat: It matters what your kitchen pot is made of

Metal matters, as surely with knives and kitchen pots as any other farm tool. As we speak, a pot of split pea soup burbles on my gas range in a pot of enamelled cast iron. I feel safe about leaving it on its own. Much safer, say, than leaving our new kitten, Hercule, on her […] Read more

The tree row catches the snow, and the big slough goes from dry to high water table. In years gone by, I spent many hours with three, two-inch pumps to move water from the slough to adjacent upland — not always a huge success.

Les Henry: Twenty-seven years of crops at my Dundurn farm

And a few lessons learned

In the early 1990s, agriculture in Saskatchewan was still suffering from the devastation of the 1980s. Drought and poor crops with low prices were bad news. But, interest rates as high as 20 per cent were the kicker that resulted in much land going back to FCC or the Royal Bank. (Yes, Virginia, interest rates […] Read more